Vampire Blood
by LadyMaito
Summary: Ethan was fifteen when he was stolen out of his room by Jesse Black, a possessive vampire with much ambition and few morals. Originally held captive for his magical properties and inability to fight back, Ethan gradually accepts the arrangement as fate. Years later, Ethan would find himself returning to Whitechapel- but under what circumstances? Slash. See rating.
1. Chapter 1

Vampire Blood c1

 **AN** : Aaannd here's the opening chapter of Vampire Blood! This is what happens when I go on a Bride of Chucky binge. Damn Tiffany's a babe. I just love all the comical horror, it's just...!

Honestly, I don't know where I'm going with this. But I would like to say _Happy Birthday_ to TiredOfBeingNice :D and you're an awesome reader, and I hope you had a good one. xx And yes, I'll feel very very stupid if you don't end up viewing this, but that's just how life is sometimes.

 _Merry Christmas_! :D

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There was a shuffling sound in the darkness of a small, slightly geeky bedroom- and then what appeared to be the outline of a teenager was dumped unceremoniously onto his bed.

"Stay there."

"You've got the wrong person." The teen sputtered out half angrily, half frantically as the tall man in black threw him on his bed. Flustered almost beyond comprehension, he watched the man who'd casually identified himself to be Jesse Black not a minute earlier, cross the room to close his curtains and block out any light from the street lamps. He'd already locked the door when they'd came in. "I have no idea what your talking about!"

"Don't play stupid with me, Ethan." Jesse tutted as he flicked on the geeky teen's table lamp and turned off the main light.

The boy took in a deep breath and pulled his towel tighter around his waist- the bastard had caught him right after his shower. And how did he know his name?

It wasn't the clothes Jesse wore, or the way he smiled- or even his inhuman stillness and speed, which defied the laws of physics that unsettled him. It was the way he looked at Ethan with those intense blue eyes, as though he was already _his_.

"So says all of your geeky science fiction collectibles." Jesse drawled and Ethan found himself flushing indignantly. Jesse laughed. "Ethan, didn't you ever start to wonder about those strange images that randomly pop into your mind, out of the blue?" He moved closer until he was a foot away from Ethan, huddled at his headboard. "Ever wonder why they never fail to come true?"

"Those are dreams!" Ethan protested hotly, and gathered into himself as he tried to refrain from making contact. "All of it, just products of my imagination-"

"Even when your awake?" Jesse challenged, and this guy seriously had no sense of personal space. "Sitting in class? Out for a walk with your equally dorky best friend?"

"I daydream!" Ethan was starting to sound a bit hysterical, even to himself. He tried to calm himself, to sound stronger, more defiant. "You stay away from Benny, you creep!"

"Hmm, maybe I _should_ have taken Benny instead. Maybe I'll still come for him." Jesse mused, and Ethan gasped as he was pulled closer by the towel. "I bet he would put up a hell of a fight."

"Don't you-"

"But your not like that, are you Ethan?" Jesse went on and shook a finger as Ethan tried vainly to keep his towel from slipping down any further, grasping it with shaky fingers. "You're so much alike to dear, sweet Benny, yet so different."

"Have you been stalking me?" Ethan tried to hang on to his anger, but the hungry look Jesse was giving him was making his stomach twist.

"Every damn day for months now." Jesse affirmed easily, looking at Ethan weirdly. "I thought that much was obvious."

Ethan exclaimed in surprise when Jesse suddenly yanked him forward by his towel- so much that Ethan fell on his back and ended up on the bed right in front of the vampire.

"What are you doing?" Ethan demanded, struggling to get away, back to the safety of a corner, but he wasn't going anywhere without dislodging himself from his towel- and that was _not_ something he was going to do.

"You know, you really are kind of pathetic." Jesse said in an easy but convicting tone, sitting back on his knees. "Pacifist you are- never defending yourself, and always going along with what other people want, even when you don't want to. You're _weak_!"

"I'm not-"

"But not anymore.." Jesse went on, and abruptly, just as the teen was getting angry from being cut off so often, Ethan's towel was ripped from around his waist. The human gave a sound of surprise, which was half a gasp and half a whimper as he was grabbed and slid forward roughly by legs, which he suddenly found on either side of Jesse's waist. "That's going to change."

The vampire smirked, "One way or another."

"What are you doing?" Ethan forced out in barely above a whisper, blushing and humiliated as his naked nether regions pressed flush against Jesse's waist. He had no cover at all now, and tried to struggle away, but Jesse's inhuman strength held him there. If he had any doubts about Jesse's status as a supernatural being, they were rapidly diminishing...especially as terrifying white fangs descended from his canines.

"Whatever your thinking, your _mine_ now." Jesse said with a grin, and Ethan wanted to scream for his parents- but he couldn't let them see him like this. Not naked with his ass pressed against what he now recognized to be another man's erection. He tried to get away- he did, but now Jesse had his arms pinned above his head-

"You might as well enjoy it." Jesse murmured in his ear, softly, almost comfortingly and Ethan shivered just before he felt fangs pierce the soft skin of his neck. He cried out in surprise and pain, and tried to hold perfectly still, because he didn't want those fangs to tear further and compromise his arteries...then he'd really be dead.

How could this have happened?

It had just been a normal day- he'd gone to school, went to a Physics Club meeting, and then went over to Benny's house for a while. Dinner, homework- a shower, and that's where this psychotic vampire had found him. He'd just been walking out of the fucking bathroom when he'd been swept away- _oww_! And now look at him, with the razor-sharp fangs of a mythical creature sunk in his neck- terrifying and mind-blowing and strangely exhilarating all at once.

What had he possibly done to warrant this? How many of his life-long beliefs had been proven wrong in the last three minutes? If that wasn't enough, he was already being assaulted, _violated_ -

"Get off!" Ethan's voice was weak. "Don't- please! That hurts!" He gasped, and then thought that maybe he heard something down the hall. It was Sunday, and too late for his parents or sister to be awake, but Benny was prone to sometimes sneaking into the house and up to his room at random times. Caught in a stage between pulsing terror and delirium, he sucked in a breath and called as loud as he dared, "Benny! Benny, hel-"

His mouth was covered abruptly by a strong hand, and he struggled for a while more, trying to get his legs free, but it was impossible. His legs were open and Jesse was lying between them, and Ethan could do absolutely nothing but utter muffled, fearful protests and pull his wrists vainly in Jesse's iron grip.

More than all of this, though, he was surprised to feel something else coursing through him as Jesse's fangs again sunk into his neck, deeper. The pain of Jesse's canines, which had dulled to almost nonexistent, now throbbed to life even more painfully, along with another sensation. It was strange- it was one and the same with the pain, but there was a warm, sparking feeling in his lower abdomen that made him shudder and involuntarily press his bare chest up into Jesse's warm leather jacket.

Jesse just laughed as Ethan's face flushed and a sick pleasure coursed through his nervous system, radiating from those pearly fangs. Then the vampire moved down a couple of inches and sunk his fangs into Ethan's neck again, harder this time, and everything started anew.

Meanwhile, Ethan's mind was reeling- he wasn't _gay_! He'd never watched inappropriate movies, and he didn't mastrubate often- hadn't even kissed anyone yet, but he was fairly sure that that was exactly what the vampire was getting to. But he wasn't gay! Yet another mind-blowing discovery, that some perverse part of him was actually enjoying this...because his body was _reacting_..

"I'm not going to lie." Jesse breathe as he sat up just so he could stare into Ethan's frightened brown eyes, which now also had a look of aroused confusion to them. His pupils were blown wide, and it wasn't only the darkness influencing them. Gently, the vampire caressed his cheek down to his neck. "You have a certain charm to you, Seer. So innocent, so kind..."

Ethan flinched as Jesse ran a finger down his chest. Then, Jesse leant forward and pressed a bloody kiss to Ethan's unresponsive lips.

"I'm going to enjoy breaking you." Jesse's eyes flashed golden and Ethan gasped. "And then putting you back together." Jesse lunged for his neck again, to take more of his blood.

Without anything else to do, the teen lied back and let himself be violated and abused while his family slept just down the hall.

"I your not going to get anything else out of me." Ethan muttered as Jesse paced around in front of him. It had been only a week since Jesse had abducted him out of his own room and taken him to god-knows-where. During that time, Ethan hadn't been... _mistreated_ , exactly, but the experience had been far from pleasant. Mostly, it had been so fucking stressful, because even though he often spat and argued with Jesse, the vampire seemed to have the patience of a saint, and punished Ethan in the worst ways...by making him want him.

"I already told you...it's involuntary. I can't-"

"It'll be involuntary when I take too much blood trying to motivate you." Jesse snapped, and threw another book at the Seer, a satisfied smirk gracing his beautiful features as Ethan's eyes began to glow white upon touching the cover. "That's what I'm talking about."

"There's a girl..." Ethan reported glumly, knowing the drill for when he received a vision. "She has dark skin and red hair- really red, like that Splat stuff you see in magazines."

"Good...What else?" Jesse asked, intrigued as he leant forward, crouching in front of the chained-up teen. "Details, Ethan. It's all in the details."

"She has a lip ring..." Ethan shook his head, clutching it with one hand while holding onto the book with the other. The vision remained only as long as he concentrated and kept contact- but it brought raging headaches. "Uh...two rings in her bottom lip and one between her eyes. Wait, wait...she has _three_ eyes, the third one glows when she's angry."

"A demon." Jesse breathe, nodding with hungry eyes as Ethan's breathing sped. Yes, this was progress. The Seer was getting better at picking out details- that was exactly what she'd looked like before he'd killed her. "A middle eastern demon, to be specific. That's right, Ethan."

"A-angry! Ah!" Ethan dropped the book and clutched his head with both hands, then clutched his eyes. Frowning both at the discarded novel and then at the seer, Jesse unlocked the cuff links with a touch, and then grasped Ethan's wrists. When Jesse removed his hands, he discovered the seer's eyes to be bloodshot and pained, and there were tears streaming from them.

"Okay, Ethan." Jesse crooned, pulling Ethan close to him, and the teen didn't have the strength to protest. "There now, it's over."

"This is the worst it's been so far!" Ethan sobbed, still clutching his face and his burning, throbbing eyes. "God, it hurts!"

"I'll make it stop, sweetheart." Jesse assured him, running comforting fingers through Ethan's hair. "This pain you feel, Ethan, it's the weakness that's hurting you- all humans are so _weak_. But you're better than that. You will be. And the first step is trusting me to do what's best for you. All you have to do is agree, Ethan, that's _all_ you need to do."

"You say that now." Ethan ground out, trying to hang onto some of his dignity. He sniffled and tore his hands away from Jesse's grasp to place them back over his eyes. God, he could still see the dim light of the room through his eyelids if he didn't have them covered. "It'll probably be worse if I agree to what you want me to do, even if this vampire-human connection thing is real, you-"

"I'll treat you like a prince." Jesse assured, pulling him close and Ethan felt the vampire raise his own wrist to his lips. He knew what was coming next. "All you need to do is drink."

"I don't want this, Jesse." Ethan shook his head, opening his eyes painfully to look into the vampires glowing ones. "I never wanted this! This isn't my life, I want my family, and-"

"I am your family now." Jesse cradled Ethan's face in his hands. "This IS your life. The sooner you accept that, the easier it's going to be."

Ethan buried his face in his hands again and sobbed, only crying harder when Jesse pulled him in again to coo and stroke his hair. He cried because he was so scared and hurting so much and what was worse was that he'd come to accept Jesse's affections- it was the only source of comfort he had. At this point, he'd take anything.

"Will it hurt?" Ethan asked feebly after just another minute, his face red and wet from his crying. Without opening his eyes, he pulled back and flinched when Jesse pressed kisses in between his eyes.

"Just the opposite, Ethan." Jesse whispered, pitying the boy in his tears and hitching breaths. He lifted the seer and swung one of his legs over him so that Ethan's was straddling his lap. "We've been through this, sweetheart, it's not going to change you. It's going to _heal_ you. It'll be the easiest thing you'll ever do. Imagine never having to hurt again, never getting sick...never growing old."

Ethan closed his eyes tighter, which hurt, but he couldn't shake the coldness he was suddenly feeling. The intense feeling of... _wrongness_. It all sounded so unnatural. But the promise of freedom from this pain...the promise of being able to _see_ , even if it had hurt him, it was still an amazing ability. To never have to feel like this again..how could he refuse?

"Such are the effects of vampire blood." Jesse murmured and pressed his bleeding wrist to his lips. "All the perks and still a beat in your heart."

After a moment's hesitation and a moan of pain, Ethan reluctantly opened his mouth and immediately recoiled when he felt warm blood rush onto his tongue. By Jesse's gentle hand guided him by the neck until his lips met the fang marks once again.

Warm? Ethan wondered deliriously, sucking in a breath as more blood flooded into his mouth. Weren't vampires supposed to be _cold_?

"When a human drinks from a vampire, it creates a unique connection. Unlike any other." Jesse murmured, still stroking Ethan's hair as the human struggled to force it down. "So, you see, I can never _really_ hurt you, Ethan. It would be much like hurting myself."

Gasping suddenly, from forgetting to breathe, Ethan pulled away and was shocked to find that he could now open his eyes without pain- the painful throbbing in his head had gone away. He licked his lips and heard his heart pounding in his ears as he collected the stray blood that had escaped his mouth. It was so much different than he had expected...a salty sweetness like he'd never known, with an aftertaste like chocolate and metal- and all of this wouldn't normally come together well, but on his lips it was like nectar. It wasn't ten seconds later that he latched his lips back to Jesse's wrist before the wound could close and began drinking with vigor.

"Addicting, isn't it?" Jesse chuckled. "Now you know how I feel when I taste that sweet blood of yours. It calls to me." Pulling his wrist away from a suddenly displeased and hungry Ethan, Jesse used a silver dagger from the dusty desk beside him to make a cut on the side of his neck, which the seer lunged for as soon as blood began seeping out. Tilting his head back, he wrapped his arms around the teen- and it didn't take much more encouragement for Ethan to do the same, lost in the pull of the vampire's intoxicating blood. Jesse moaned lowly and tangled his fingers in Ethan's shaggy hair.

"We're going to have an amazing life together." Jesse assured breathlessly when Ethan was finally finished, and had sat back with blissed out eyes and heavy breath, drunk on Jesse's blood.

"It's going to be so much easier now, for you to discover your talents, and I'll help you." Jesse grinned and leaned forward to kiss Ethan, who responded slowly and groggily, as though in a dream. "We'll get past our differences, and I'll show you the world. I'll take you to Rome and Paris, and to see those dusty pyramids you love so much. And you'll be mine."

"Mmm." Was the only sound Ethan could reply with. He'd lost himself in the feeling's Jesse's blood had given him- feelings that remained even now, when he finally realized that he was doing the exact thing that he'd feared. Allowing himself to be won over like this, but everything felt so _good_. Not two minutes ago, he'd been hurting and crying and scared...

"Mine." Jesse repeated, leaning back against the wall, adjusting Ethan until he was sitting nestled in Jesse's careful grasp. The vampire held him as though he were a tired child and encouraged the seer to lean his buzzing head on his shoulder. "Forever."

All Ethan could feel now was warmth and comfort...he'd felt so much pain and confusion, and it was all gone now...it was the best feeling in the world. He felt safe. Of course Jesse never would have _really_ hurt him. He couldn't, it would be...it wouldn't have been right..

With the vampire's lips on his forehead, he sunk into darkness.

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 _"If I ever went missing, would you look for me?"_

 _"Benny, what kind of a question is that?"_

 _"Just answer it." Thirteen year-old Benny's lips quirked up in a small smile. "Humor me."_

 _"Of course I would." Ethan answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. What was that thing Benny had taken up a habit of saying last year? Oh, right. "...I'd move heaven and hell to find you again."_

 _"...good." Ethan's answer had been cheesier than intended, but he could hear the responding smile in Benny's voice. And when he leant over his bed to gaze at where the lanky teen lie comfortably on his floor, he found himself wishing he hadn't- his heart stuttered. In the dark room, under the glow of his computer monitors and star-chart nightlight, his best friend was strangely beautiful._

 _A sentiment that would never fail to invade his mind every time he looked at him. Not for the next three years._

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 **AN** : I guess this is just a story to help me get back into the habit of just free-writing, because all of my other stories have been so _serious_ lately!

This might turn out to be seventy-nine percent smut, guys. (Though I know some of you will enjoy that, you know who you are! -cough- BethanForever, you monster) Jesse and Ethan are hot...and Benny's hot too, _way_ hot, but I needed a kick off for this story, and thus he was removed. For now.

What did you think? :D The other chapters will be longer. I'm just testing the waters for now. Checking for a response. -waggles eyebrows-

Posted: _12.22.15 11:05 PM_ (:


	2. Chapter 2

Vampire Blood CHAPTER TWO!

 **AN** : Sorry for the long wait, you guys! Over a year! Yikes! But one of my dear readers said that this was her second-favorite story, and I was like Whaaaaa lol so for this beautiful white sheep, I'll update. I have been working on this for what seems like years, but I never knew how to continue...you ever get like that? Like you have an awesome plot and you don't make an outline, and it just slips away? No? Just me? lol

Woo! Just over 6500 words!:D Hopefully, it counts for something? No? :D

See how many of my careful readers can catch the easter eggs in this chapter! There are at least three, I think.

Hope you enjoy! Happy New Year everyone! See you at the bottom.

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There were times when Ethan still had thought of running away. The fear, both of himself and of the vampire who'd kidnapped him. By no means had any of the negative feelings just gone away into thin air. It's just that it got easier over time. Mostly due to one thing...

The vampire blood.

There were times when Jesse still scared him, absolutely- and times when Jesse would snap at him for all of Ethan's own harsh words and defiance. Sometimes, the vampire would truly lose his temper (never on account of Ethan) and all the seer wanted was to run somewhere safe and hide there...but the thing was, that no matter how much he wished it weren't so, Jesse _was_ the only person or place he had to run to for comfort. He was the only source of comfort he'd had these days, and that same person was the cause of his miserable predicament.

It was so confusing.

For example...almost immediately after Ethan had drank from Jesse for the first time, he'd been moved out of his dusty attic room and into a much more comfortable, spacey room on what turned out to be the third floor. For the first month or so, Ethan hadn't been allowed out of the house, but the house, or _mansion_ , he'd rather say, was big enough to go exploring.

His own room was more modern than the others, but equally as luxurious. It was painted a light blue, spacious, and complete with a huge bathroom, a four-poster bed and canopy, a window seat, a couch, an impressive gaming system, and a TV. No computer, because Jesse _had_ done research before kidnapping him, but who knew vampires knew how to live?

However, all of this only added to his guilt...he should be trying to get away, not trying to take it all in. His family was probably worried sick out of their minds, and Benny...god, Benny...

But Ethan didn't ask for this! If he'd only been stronger, if his stupid gift had come earlier, he might have been able to prevent all of this. Maybe he would still be home, goofing off and doing normal, geeky teenage things with his best friend...

At the same time, he felt strangely...thankful. The vampire could have given him a less favorable place to stay, like the _dungeon_ (and yes, Jesse had one of those too, and it wasn't a pleasant place to even think about). Mind-blowingly..his kidnapper had been nothing but _nice_ to him, if you didn't count the way he would mock Ethan's human roots from time to time. Ethan supposed that came with the immortality, though...what supernatural beast wouldn't look down on puny humans, with all their abilities? Or, simply, if they had the ego that Jesse did.

Ethan was only left to wonder why he was being treated so kindly. If Jesse had just wanted him for his eyes, couldn't he simply have forced him to do whatever he wanted? Not that Ethan was in any way weak-willed, but a being such as Jesse would've had no problem taking a hostage or, (get this) just hypnotizing him with those terrifying vampire eyes of his.

So why all the special treatment? The domestication?

In fact, it all seemed a little too good...like, at any moment, those same downy sheets and pillows could flip over into a bed of nails, and that comfy chair could suddenly grow restraints. He could only ever think about the ulterior motive behind all of this...because there _had_ to be one. Right?

Ethan sometimes supposed it was just his own paranoia...if Jesse had wanted to hurt him, he'd had a thousand and one chances to do so already. Particularly when Ethan refused to cooperate. There was even one time that the seer had accidentally kicked him where it hurts and all Jesse had done was hiss with his bared vampire teeth and blazing yellow eyes and reprimand him sharply to stay still.

But Jesse always got his way. If there was anything Ethan had learned for certain in his time spent with the vampire, it was that what Jesse Black wanted, Jesse Black got.

No matter how ridiculous the comman- EHEM, the requests.

"I don't see the point of this." Ethan scowled as Jesse tied a blindfold around his eyes.

"Well, you will soon, if everything goes well." Jesse gently fastened the silky material, and then let the rest of hang down the back of Ethan's neck, where he placed what felt like a soft kiss, though it could have been his imagination. Ethan tried not to react to it. "I've known a few seer's in my day, and you have the potential to do great things, Morgan. So much more than brief premonitions. To see what's right in front of you without having to look. Without light. Try it."

"All I'm going to do is fall over all these antiques you have lying around." Ethan insisted, and Jesse's hands were gone from his shoulders. "Hey!"

There was a sound of whooshing, and Ethan knew that Jesse had just run around the room, probably to close all of the light-blocking drapes and to turn out all the lights. Knew enough to know that the vampires eyes were probably glowing a fierce yellow.

"Trust me."

The seer sighed, not trusting the vampire one bit, but resigning once again to the fact that he had no choice. Hesitantly, he took a few steps forward, letting his arms open on either side of him so that he could get a feel for where he was. Jesse had taken him to an unfamiliar room, with his eyes closed. Though this particular room MAY have been one of the ballrooms. It might even be unfurnished-

 _Thud_.

"Ow!"

"Ethan, you're not trying." Jesse chastised. Ethan winced, but had learned enough to know that Jesse wasn't about to try and hurt him for his failures. He just needed to... _try_? Like, what did that even mean?

"How do I do this?" The seer asked, wanting to know. If he was going to do this, it had better be worth something. After all, wasn't that the entire reason he was here?

"Just... _see_." Jesse seemed to battle with himself for the correct words. "You have more than just your first eyes, Ethan, and you can see more than just what's in front of them. The blindfold, the dark, means nothing when faced with your second sight. See it."

Ethan wrinkled his nose, but started to concentrate, willing himself to feel that strange sensation that always took over him when he was having a vision. Imagined it running through him now, tingling his skin, centering from somewhere in his spine and right behind his eyes...remembering how a haze always came over his sight...

Willing his stupid eyes to see something that should have been impossible for him to see physically. He had to see with the...the magic within his eyes. How lame and girly-sounding was that? If it didn't work, he'd only end up looking like an idiot.

It took a minute or so, but he finally got the feeling right. It was hard, having to force it, but after all, his body had done stranger things in the past, and before long, magic was within his grasp. He just had to push...just had to strain a little...he gasped as a brief flash came across his eyelids. It was the oddest thing, like he wasn't even seeing it, like the image had just come across his mind. Dark, but it had been so vivid.

He took a few, stumbling steps to his right, reached out and touched a chair off to the side of him. The same one he'd seen in the brief flash he'd gotten just a moment ago.

"Woah." He breathe, running his hand across the soft cushioning.

"What did you see?" Jesse's voice came ghosting from just behind him, making Ethan shudder.

"This room." Ethan answered immediately, though unsure of himself. "I think...it's really...full, isn't it?"

"It's a storage room." A smile could be heard in the vampire's voice. "Excellent. This is excellent progress."

A second later, "How are your eyes?"

"Tingling." Ethan responded, trying to blink away what he knew would soon become burning. "It's not so bad."

"Good." Jesse leaned in and wrapped his arms around the teen, pressing soft lips to the side of his face and whispering in his ear, turning gently until Ethan faced another section of the room. "Again."

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Ethan supposed he knew where the situation was going the moment he began to thirst for Jesse's blood. Like craving your favorite food or drink, and the urges were coming more and more often. He wondered if this is what it felt like to smoke cigarettes and become addicted ot the nicotine.

Only, he couldn't believe anything could be more captivating than this. It wasn't so much as a physical need, but a mental and emotional one. He despised the color red. Glistening crimson..

"There now." Jesse shushed him, as he settled Ethan more comfortably than strictly necessary on his lap, and Ethan could could hear the smile in his voice. The seer's eyes were still closed, so as to block the light from his sensitive orbs, but he could physically feel when Jesse reached up to make the cut on himself. "Relax."

The vampire's words were spoken gently, yet Ethan could still hear a hint of cockiness somewhere in the smooth tones. It portrayed a clear message; without a doubt, the vampire was convinced that Ethan was his. Like property.

It left a bad taste in the seer's mouth- figuratively, anyway. The blood itself...how could Ethan describe it? It waslife and death at the same time. Metallic and sweet, rich in essence, but it ran across his tongue so lightly, perfectly. It was more than drinking the fluid from Jesse's veins (which still grossed him out if he bought about it too much) it was like...drinking electricity. There was something in it that rejuvenated his entire being.

When Ethan had hesitantly asked about it one day, Jesse had but smiled and described it as magic.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" Jesse winked. "Don't be ashamed, Ethan. When you drink from me, you should feel nothing but safe. Comforted. After all, you're a prize well sought after, and I have you now. When you drink blood frequently, you come to recognize the taste of magic- and just one sip of my blood should give you an idea of the kind of power that _I_ have."

So far, Ethan had drank blood from Jesse all of five times in the last two and a half months. Each time, he felt like a dead iPhone being recharged to well past it's electrical capacity. At the same time that it made him feel like he could walk up walls, it made him feel incredibly relaxed and blissful. And it made his eyes feel better. When he drank, gone were the irritated blood vessels, and any dark circles under his eyes, any fatigue, physical or otherwise. The pain left peacefully like a raft taking off on a gently flowing stream.

He hated it.

More than anything, Ethan wished that Jesse would be strict with him, would yell at him or even hit him when he got mad. He wished that his blood tasted like blood should, coppery and dull and gag-inducing. It wasn't that Ethan was a masochist- he didn't like the idea of being beaten and living in anxiety that the vampire would hurt him when upset...but it was better than the alternative.

Ethan was no idiot- he knew what Stockholm Syndrome was. He didn't find himself suddenly sympathizing with Jesse's evil cause, whatever it was. He hadn't begun to "understand" Jesse, or fall in love with him. He didn't all of a sudden begin to warm up to the frightening creature, or want to get close to him as a means of coping with the situation...but it had been almost three months. It was a fact that when thrust into strange and new territory, any creature intelligent enough to value their life will be forced to adapt to their surroundings. Ethan still hated the situation, and still hoped somewhere, deep inside that one day, someone from his past would find him, or that he would find a way out himself- Ethan prided himself in his intelligence.

Still, the fear of the unknown persisted. The things he wasn't sure of.

"It's okay, Ethan." Jesse whispered.

There were times Ethan still feared to stray from his room, because he'd heard less than comforting sounds coming from the floors above or below. He missed his family, his best friend Benny, his bedroom, his favorite t-shirts, and anything normal in general. He sometimes lost his temper and blew up on Jesse, holding his aching eyes or attempting to lock himself away in his bedroom. The anger and fear that Jesse had instilled in him when he took him from his room that night had not gone away.

But it had began to ebb, if only just a little.

When Ethan had fearfully witnessed Jesse de-materialize his opponents with just a wave of his hand or pulverize them with speed too great for the human eye to follow, a strange look had come across the vampire's face. Almost like regret, but it was always gone in a moment, and although he usually apologized afterwards for losing his cool, he also mentioned that it was good for Ethan to see what happened to those who didn't follow the rules. When Ethan lost his temper with him, Jesse simply sighed, smiled or grinned in that patronizing way of his, and dismissed him from their practice. Other times, he would hold Ethan still and lick lightly at the seer's eyes and temples, and how disgusting was that? But it made him flush hotly and the pain receded blissfully each and every time he did so.

Each time Ethan had broken down and pleaded with Jesse to let him go or see him family, the vampire had reminded him with false gentleness that Ethan was _his_ now, and he shouldn't be worrying over trivial things such as petty humans. Screaming that he _was_ human, Ethan went off on Jesse, only to be comforted patiently with soft touches and reassurances that Jesse alone would now be responsible for him, and that he would be well looked after. He was a precious treasure, after all.

Ethan didn't believe him one bit, but the thought of never seeing his family again was more painful than not thinking about them at all. So, as often as he could, he actually took to the lessons Jesse was trying to instill into him, found himself cooperating, reading more, taking longer baths, and staring out of his window. He'd thought of escape only twice since being taken from home: once, on the flight (yes, flight!) to the manor, and once after being shown to his room the first night he'd slept there.

It was all useless. Ethan was neither physically strong, nor talented enough with his visual gift yet for him to try and force his way out. Jesse had only held tighter when he struggled in their flight and the unbarred windows of his room, while also wide and tall, seemed to be protected by an invisible barrier. Strangely, wind and rain could still be let in, as he was unfortunate enough to discover last week. He'd gotten a sigh from Jesse, an insult, and a stack of paper towels thrown at him for that.

And for these reasons, fear burned in Ethan's veins now more than ever at being held captive. A fear deep in his heart, because he could feel his will to resist leaving him. More and more thoughts of "This isn't so bad, for being held prisoner" had begun to float through his mind. The more time he spent with the dark vampire, the more he found himself beginning to smile, beginning to look forward to their lessons, feeling with wonder his own eyes tinging with incredible potential...and it was all terrifying. His primal instincts to run and fight had all but been lulled to sleep.

He was no more than a reluctant pet that had been fed and doted on, and was now beginning to...to accept that...

With nothing more ponder on, Ethan simply lied in his bed and waited for tears to come. No matter what he did, he couldn't force them. Absently, he wondered with a half dead and half awakened heart if he'd already cried all the tears his body had been able to- and by no means was Ethan a crybaby. But being away from his family and hometown and _Benny_ , for what felt like the first time ever, had an unpleasant effect on his nerves.

And the absolute worst part? His nerves had found someone new to settle into, someone he should've never allowed himself to relax around, and Ethan was no longer sure he could keep up much more of his defiance. What good was it doing? It might have given him a sense of strength, but Jesse, other than the occasional insult, had always treated him well, since he's known him. Not to mention the interesting staff and other vampires who frequented the area, and not all of them seemed to be totally evil- some were friendly, in fact. Jesse merely kept him there, in his big manor, with two ballrooms, a mini-aquarium, a greenhouse with odd plant life, a library, a games room, and seemingly infinite number of fascinating magical items.

Is that all Ethan would become to Jesse, once his visual training had been completed? A tool? A magical relic to be taken out of a glass case when needed, and placed back on a pedestal when not needed? When had hurt woven its way into his fear?

If Ethan knew anything, it was that he needed to escape. As soon as freakin' possible. Before it was too late, in more ways than one. He might not have had brawn, but he had his brain.

Ethan watched the blood drip from Jesse's wound until it healed to smooth, pale skin again. Flawless. Only then, did he raise a hand and wipe the blood away, only to lick it off his fingers with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

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"How are your studies with Luc going, Ethan?" Jesse asked and made his move on the checkerboard. Ethan didn't see, because he was blindfolded, but could hear the vampire's soft movements, and the clack of the pieces on the wood. Flashes of the board came more and more frequently, and Ethan moved his pieces as quickly as he could, trying to follow the vampire's strategy as much as he could.

"Uh, good I think." Ethan narrowed his eyes behind the cloth and moved one of his last pieces with some hesitance. "I'm able to hold a conversation for longer than I can hold a game of checkers."

"You're doing well."

"I only lasted seventeen moves."

"That's one more than last time." Ever the optimist, Jesse's eternal smirk-smile flashed into his mind. "You're progressing, little by little. ONce you get your positioning down, we may be able to move on to chess."

"Don't talk about it, please?" Ethan whined, taking off the blindfold. "I'm exhausted and my eyes hurt."

"You can rest after this." Jesse assured him. "I have to leave for a few hours anyway. Just to the town archives to do a little research. You know the place."

Ethan did. Although he hadn't set foot past the gardens in the back yard, he'd seen and studied several maps of the area- all of which were in french. That was what his vampire tutor, Luc, was attempting to teach him.

"I'll be in my room." Ethan stood up, reminding himself that he still had some semblance of rebellion within him, and headed for the door. He would not resort to making small conversation with Jesse any more than he had to, no matter how natural it now felt.

"Wait, I have something for you." Jesse stood and handed him a wooden case that looked disturbingly familiar. Ethan had seen cases like this down in the basement where elixirs, tonics and ration blood was stored. It was like one of those, only smaller. "I know I've been gone a lot, but from the state of your skin and eyes, I can tell you've been practicing on your own a lot. I'm sorry I haven't been here to help you."

"Don't worry, I feel fine, just tired." Knowing he couldn't get away without taking the box, Ethan gripped it tight and reached to open the door to the room, only to find that Jesse had beat him to it.

"You look paler than usual, dork." Jesse sighed. "You need sunlight..and fresh air. No more sulking in your corners like the girl no one wants to dance with."

"If I were allowed out, maybe I wouldn't be so pale." Ethan shoved his way out the door, and made his way in the general direction of his room.

"Luc's going into town today for a little shopping spree. Would you like to accompany him?"

Ethan froze in his tracks.

"I can? Seriously?"

"I think I've said this before, but if you want something, Ethan, all you need to do is ask." Jesse smiled. "You could've been outside weeks ago, months ago, in fact."

"Your just now-" Ethan held his tongue. "I can go? Really?"

"I'll leave some money with Luc for you. Buy whatever you want, but do remember what we talked about last week? Or what I talked about and hopefully you listened? This town is holding a cultural festival soon, and the section of the town you'll be going to is going to be heavily strict about it. Everyone will be speaking French." The vampire winked. "Think you can keep up, dork?"

"I should be able to. But just in case, I can speak English, right?" Ethan scratched his head. Everyone will speak French? How weird was that? Those sure are some dedicated townspeople if that really were the case.

"Just don't embarrass me." Jesse dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Have fun."

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It really was amazing. Everything in this town was so rustic, almost out of France itself. Balconies and arches everywhere, like what part of Canada were they in? Jesse hadn't been wrong, it did sound like everyone was speaking French, fluently, at that.

"Um..." Ethan struggled to ask how much the price of the jacket he was holding was. As it turned out, Luc was nowhere to be found, and Ethan imagined he was just laughing his fangs off somewhere. Before he'd lost track of him, Ethan was sure he'd heard the blonde vampire mention something about immersion. Anything to give the seer a hard time.

The little farmers market and stores surrounding it really was beautiful, and the air was filled with laughter and the scent of spices and food.

Eyeing some strange-looking herbs, Ethan picked one up and sniffed it discreetly. It looked like a mix of grass and asparagus. How weird. There were others unfamiliar to him, but most he already knew. Black pepper, chives, rosemary, ginger...

"Oh! Sorry!" Ethan spoke in English as he realized someone was talking to him. It was an older lady gesturing to the plant in his hand. It took a few moments for him to realize that she was explaining the name and uses for the herb to him, and a moment more for him to formulate a reply in french. This lady really did sound like she had spoken French all her life.

She was gesturing with her hands, towards the general direction that Luc had run off to. The only things Ethan could truly catch were the words "It is related to the" and a bunch of words he hadn't yet memorized. Soon enough, though, he communicated that he was still learning the language and she used what little she knew of other languages. One thing Ethan understood was "natural leak" but he wasn't sure he'd heard her right. In the end, to be polite, he bought a small bag of herbs, and a little plant with purple blossoms that turned out to be ornamental oregano.

It was Jesses's money, after all and "some money" hadn't been a drastic enough description for the amount he'd left for Ethan with Luc. The thing was, it was odd money, but he guessed it was due to the festival. Jesse had seemed to have always been one for style, as long as Ethan knew him, so it wasn't that weird.

"Goodbye!" Ethan called to one stand owner who had given him a low price on scented wax for the burner Ethan had recognized in his room when he'd first moved in. There had also been an off sale on books, and as usual for this place- French! He supposed it was good for his lessons, but it still gave him a headache. He was talented in math and science, not literature and tongues.

"Sweet boy." The lady had cooed at him, and she was very pretty, not to mention kind, so Ethan was feeling pretty good about himself. The sun was shining bright, and it so happened that on the other end of the shopping center, where he'd been when he'd lost Luc, they could see the remnants of fog downhill from the rain the night before. Ethan supposed he really should find Luc, though, or just head back to the manor himself. How it had been possible to lose that bright red jacket of his in a crowd of browns, grays and other boring colors and patterns was beyond him.

He thought only briefly of hailing a cab and attempting to get the hell out of dodge, before he pushed that thought away. Wherever he went, Jesse or Luc would know. He knew that some towns in Canada were so strict about their French linage that they demanded French as their number one language, but had no idea where those towns were or which one he was in. Besides, he was sure Jesse wouldn't mind having cab-driver for a snack, if it came down to it, if only to teach Ethan a lesson.

It was when Ethan tripped and cut himself on a sharp rock that he supposed everything went to hell. From the most peaceful moments he'd experienced in nearly three months to one of the worst.

 _It was Luc, lying face down in a pit, something underneath him staining the ground dark. He was surrounded by tall grass, and the fog grew thick nearby. Next was Jesse, looking as determined as Ethan had ever seen him, and surrounded by books, reading next to a small, stained glass lamp. Next was...what the hell was that? What the hell was it?! Whatever it was, it had blood on it's serpentine snout and the bristling spikes on it's back. Ethan could sense it's blood lust, it was terrifying, and whatever it was..._

Ethan gasped as he came to, and nearly dropped his pack, almost giving himself whiplash as he looked frantically back and forth, trying to remember where he'd seen fog. This hill this part of town was positioned on had one exposed side, past the little outdoor shops, and that was where the fog was visible. Where had he been, when he'd seen it through the alleys between shops? That was where he would find Luc, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember where he'd been. He could head out into open area and circle the place, but that would take too long, there were so many shops, so many roads...

It looked like the vampire had been on the brink of death, if not already there. How much time did Ethan have? Where the hell-

Oregano!

Rushing past the shops, he searched haphazardly for the knife Luc had given him earlier in the day to protect himself against human attackers. Really, what the hell would the pathetic knife do against that porcupine-snake thing? But hell if he was going in empty-handed. Speaking of which, his hand itched and throbbed rather badly, but he could stop to assess the damage. He was almost there!

"Luc!" Ethan panted as he ran through the correct alleyway and stopped short of the tall grass, doubts plaguing his mind.

Luc...while friendly with him, was still a vampire. He was still an ally to Jesse, and helped to keep him locked away, so really, was there a logical point to saving him? That _thing_ looked like it was on it's way to Jesse as well, and by the sorry state Luc was in, it looked like that thing had taken him down rather easily, and...was the blonde vampire really in any state to stop him from getting away?

This could be his chance!

Turning back towards the shopping district, Ethan found that he could take no more then a single step towards the street lights that had begun to illuminate the square. In the distance, he could hear people talking, laughing, and Luc, his vampire tutor and assistant warden was bleeding out, probably suffering. That monster had looked fierce, deadly, and possibly poisonous...

Could he really leave him? It was terrible what had happened to him, but...was that the kind of person Ethan had become in just a few short months? A person who would refuse to help someone in danger, when they had the clear ability to do so? Had he been reduced to that?

Staring with wide eyes towards the edge of town, and remembering all the times the hateful yet quirky vampire had made Ethan laugh, had given him advice and encouragement, time around Ethan seemed to stand still. Until eventually, the seer took a deep, angry breath before turning on his heel. He stumbled with the extra weight of his bag on the slick grass, rushing over to the red jacketed vampire and knelt quickly, spilling much of what he had bought all over the mud. Frantically, he felt for a pulse, thankful that Luc's face was turned away from him.

No pulse!

"No." Ethan rasped, beginning to anxiously shake the vampire's shoulder before he gathered his bearings. Trying to hold down his panic, Ethan re-positioned his fingers on his tutor's neck and felt more firmly for a few moments more. At long last...there was a heartbeat. Very slow and faint, but present. So Luc wasn't dead, yet anyway.

If there was any hope of saving him, he would either need to feed him his blood to boost his strength (potentially dangerous to him, but it could make all the difference) or alert Jesse-

Jesse! That monster was headed for Jesse- how could he have forgotten?!

"What do I do?!" Ethan panicked hands fluttering over the blonde's prone form. "Luc!" He couldn't haul him to town, he might go crazy on the townspeople in his state, but...but if he left him, he could die! If he stayed, he could still die! If he stayed...well, just look what this thing _did_ to Luc, and the blonde vampire was no pushover. If he stayed instead of rushing to warn him, Jesse would without a doubt be hurt, if not worse.

Jesse. Would he truly be more than a match for any force that threatened him, like he so often claimed? Ethan wondered.

That smug bastard. Always bragging about how strong he was...but that strength would definitely be put to the test if all Ethan did was sit there.

Though he worried for Luc's safety, there was a small voice in his mind that kept getting louder, telling him that these people weren't his friends, but his captors. Without them, he could again be free. If he left now, and left Luc and Jesse to whatever fate decided for them, he could easily make it back to the shopping districts main roads and hail a cab to Whitechapel. With all that he'd stocked up on today, and the money left over from Jesse's allowance, he could _easily_ survive a few days alone, if need be.

Wherever he was, he could make it somewhere familiar, to his grandparents in Golden Falls, or the Weir's relatives in Blue Tree, or even Benny's uncle Caleb's house all the way in Quebec. He even knew of some of Rory's family in New Brunswick. This town was strange, leave it to Jesse to confuse the seer as much as possible, but even Ethan knew of some French communities in Canada that held great value in their ancestor's native language. Granted, he knew where none of them were, only that they existed, but Ethan was resourceful- he could find an advantage no matter where he was.

He could leave, if he left now...he could actually do it.

Ethan could do nothing to defend himself against the vampire, and he'd never had reason to, but he still owed nothing to Jesse. The vampire had violated him, humiliated him, drank from and abducted him, stolen him away from his home and family, and made him drink from his own veins. Given him confusing lessons and teachers and forced him to pull a supernatural power from deep within himself everyday, and it hurt! Worse than that, he'd made Ethan doubt himself, doubt his own strength and purpose as a human being, and he'd made the seer come to depend on him. If that wasn't cruelty, Ethan didn't know what was.

Numbly, Ethan gathered everything into his heavy leather bag. Next to the supplies and herbs, Luc, his tutor lie in the mud, in a crater that looked like it had been dug up by something monstrous. His jacket was torn, and his normally perfectly styled hair was wet with blood that was still sinking into the dirt.

With every second Ethan sat there, the monster or demon or whatever the hell it was, got closer and closer to Jesse. he knew that's what it was doing, somehow. It liked vampires.

He was the one who had been wronged here...he owed neither of them anything, so what was the use of running into danger and getting killed for them? If he approached that thing, it would sniff him out, and if his _movement_ wasn't enough to rile it up, the scent of vampire and vampire blood within him definitely would. Of that, he was sure. Plus, his hand still stung from where he'd cut it on that stupid rock, and he doubted he could fight a girl scout with his just his left hand on his best day. Either option presented to him promised struggle and turmoil.

If he left, he might be pursued by those more cruel than Jesse...then again, he might make it home. If he left, Jesse's and Luc's death's would be on him. Yet if he stayed and tried to play hero for those who had imprisoned him, he would likely never see his family again, unless he happened to live, and another perfect opportunity happened by. He may very well suffer for the rest of his life. And through all of it, he knew with certainty that there was no way to win here. Either way, he would end up regretting his decision.

Standing up, Ethan looked towards the shopping district of the little town. It would be dark soon, and he'd lose even his ability to see where he was going in the tall grass without having to use his second sight. Then, he looked toward the general direction he knew the archives building was established. Finally, he looked at Luc, his teacher, his warden, and knew his heartbeat was quickly fading.

Hardening his heart and hefting his burden onto his shoulder with his uninjured hand, Ethan ran up the slippery hill and hurried as fast as he could towards the shopping district.

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 **AN** : Woo! How about that? :D Some inner turmoil, right? I wonder what'll happen next, hm? I'd like to mention that I wrote 75% of this just today, so yay! Maybe I've got some of my writing mojo back! I plan on incorporating the Morgan's and Weir's into the next chapter, but if there's anything in particular you'd like to see, send me a review.

As a matter of fact, send me one anyway! For the sake of this story ;D it has a LOT more followers than I expected, but then again, there are a lot of perverts out there (whispers: don't worry, I'm not a pervert, I'm a SUPER one). lmao

But HELL does it suck balls when you have the ending written perfectly to a fucking T and your PC shuts down so you lose everything. This ever happen to anyone else? I sympathize, bruh.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN** : I just had to continue to work on this story after the last chapter, so maybe this will also be updated quicker than expected!

- **A Day Later** -

Annnnd it has been! Woo! Go me! -bags under eyes- (e_e)

Hopefully, what aspects I didn't write about, I made up in length. 6,400+ words! Raise the roof. Get ready for some feels!

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Ethan came to slowly, groaning as he felt a slight pain in his stomach, and a dizziness in his head. For a second, he wondered he was gonna throw up or not.

Nope, not yet.

"Ugh.." Ethan breathe deeply, and opened his eyes reluctantly, wondering if he'd died and gone to heaven or hell. Either way, it was comfortable...really comfortable. But he thought you couldn't get sick in heaven..?

"You're awake."

Ethan startled, looking across what he realized was _his_ bed, to where a raven haired vampire sat on his window seat. Suddenly downcast, Ethan questioned when exactly he'd started to conside this room his...or when he began to think of Jesse as beautiful. Slowly, he shook his head and closed his eyes again. He didn't want to wake up.

"No..." Ethan answered, voice raspy and stubborn. "I don't want to wake up."

"Typical." Jesse sighed as he got up from his seat and Ethan's eyes cracked open to watch him warily. As it turned out, all Jesse wanted was the book lying on the bedside table. He held it up for Ethan to see, and was confused to see that it was a grand copy of _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ by C.S. Lewis.

"I didn't know you read." Jesse teased with a smirk, and began to flip randomly through the pages. "I have to admit, it wasn't as lame as I expected. I don't often bother with human literature anymore- the last great authors died off during the 1800's. Though Stephan King's books are something I can stand now and again. Their funny."

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe...Narnia..." Ethan mused and settled more firmly into his pillows as he realized he wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon. "I didn't bring that book in here."

"No, I did." Jesse shot him a look that was half amused and half annoyed. "After your late night escapade to the library and our reading session, I gave the series a read myself. It wasn't so bad."

"What escapade? You mean, the..." Ethan sat upright in bed and Jesse eyed him carefully. "Luc..."

"He's resting up as well." Was it just his grogginess playing tricks on him, or did Jesse appear a bit sheepish? "While your courage was something to be greatly admired in going up against the peluda, Luc took almost the full brunt of it's attack. You're very lucky it didn't find you first."

"The same could be said for you." Ethan shot back, angered somewhat. Did Jesse just call him weak?

"Easy there, tiger." Jesse sat down on the edge of his bed and Ethan tensed minutely. While the vampire had become less aggressive in his actions since the first time they met, he still sometimes made a point of invading Ethan's personal space. It didn't seem to matter to him if Ethan was responsive or not. "So you really don't remember?"

"It's foggy..." Ethan murmured, but felt more and more depressed with each passing moment. Because the memories were beginning to come back now...

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 _Ethan panted as he climbed his way up the hill, careful now of the load over his shoulder, and rushed through the alleyway he'd come through. Legs shaking, he hurried through the marketplace, gaining many whispers and concerned looks. A few people even tried to talk to him in their deep, flowing dialect, but Ethan did his best to not notice them and made his way to the main roads._

 _There, within two minutes of leg-shaking patience, he flagged a transit, and opened the back door in a hurry._

 _"Hold on, Luc." Ethan muttered, stowing his tutor carefully in the backseat. After shutting him away, he got into the front and quickly pulled out a map of the area immediately around them, marking the place he knew Jesse's mansion to be._

 _"Don't get out of the car." Ethan tried to tell the man in his native tongue. "Tell them that Luc is in the backseat, hurt. Very hurt!"_

 _The driver also looked confused by what was probably a very bad accent, but he nodded and repeated it back to Ethan as he handed the man twice the payment he needed and then some._

 _'Bless you' Ethan thought feverishly, hoping that the older man wouldn't simply become a snack for the gate guard back at the mansion. Or, Luc, if he woke up and decided he was thirsty._

 _"I can't believe myself." Ethan growled, adjusting his bag and taking off toward the direction of the archives building. As he walked, and reached an open part of the town, where he could see a grand building just beyond, he began to feel a presence. It was sinister, and made him think not only twice but more like five times about what he was doing. Reaching into his bag, he gripped the folding knife Luc had given him. "I really can't."_

 _Somewhere in the grass, he heard rustling and hissing. If he didn't move now, both he and Jesse would be done for. Steeling himself in the darkness, he activated his second sight._

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"That was the first time I'd seen with those eyes outside this mansion." Ethan recalled numbly, staring at the water Jesse had just handed him. His hand on the right was heavily bandaged, as was his forearm on his left, and if he wasn't mistaken, his left ankle was also wrapped.

"You saved Luc." Jesse's voice was contemplative. "I know you could have ran, but you chose to bring Luc to safety and try to save me instead."

"...I was stupid." Ethan whispered. He _was_ stupid. Careless. He'd like to say he thought of it before he'd brought Luc to the cab, but he'd only thought of it after he'd began running towards the archives- that he would never truly be safe, if he just went ahead and ran. His family would never be safe- because what had the details of his abduction been?

Jesse had stolen Ethan from the _inside of his own home_. He'd watched him for months beforehand. If Ethan did manage to make it home, then what was to stop Jesse or one of his lackies from simply coming and retrieving him again? More than his freedom, and up until that moment, he'd been convinced he wanted nothing more...he wanted _their_ safety.

He could never leave unless Jesse allowed it. He would never pull it off. If he escaped and didn't go home...who was to stop the vampires from taking his family hostage to get him to come back? The situation was well and truly hopeless.

Raising the glass to his lips, he took a shaky breath and drank. The water tasted sweet, like fruit, but was crystal clear.

"There's some painkillers in it." Jesse said from suddenly right next to him, causing the seer to almost drop his glass. "Among other things, and please skip the part where you freak out and just drink it. It'll help."

A moment later, Ethan lifted the glass and took a few big gulps of the sweet water, deciding not to care what might happen as a consequence. Right then, he was feeling so disgusted with himself that he couldn't bring himself to care what kind of horrible drugs might be in the water. Maybe they would even put him to sleep.

"Are you hungry?" Jesse asked.

"No." Ethan shook his head, wincing as it pounded. All he wanted to do was sleep and forget about what he'd done for a while longer. It was a strange feeling, to want to crawl out of your own skin.

He startled when he felt the bed shift, and abruptly, Jesse's hands were on his shoulders. Directly behind him and close enough for Ethan's skin to tingle, Jesse let out a barely audible sigh and Ethan tensed, as though, despite the gentle actions, expecting for razor sharp fangs to sink into his neck.

Although Jesse hadn't bitten him since the night they met, nor had he violated his personal space save for long embraces and soft kisses on his skin, the close proximity was enough for Ethan to feel fear coursing through his veins. Raw, human fear, the fear of a mouse cornered by a dark, smirking cat. Jesse was a vampire, cold and ruthless, he...

He'd slid his hands down Ethan's arms and back up to his shoulders, all the while applying the barest of pressure. Now, those same hands were applying firmness gently to his tensed shoulders, and the place where his shoulders met his neck. The tenderness in the action made Ethan want to snarl, scoff and shove the vampire off and cry at the same time.

Logically, he knew that Jesse didn't care for him, not in the slightest, he was foolish for that thought to even cross his mind. Logically, he knew that he should just sit there and take it, because on his best day, he'd still be no match for Jesse, not by a long shot, to be able to push him away with just human strength. His mind knew this, and he was angry.

But his heart was sad, and sinking into something dark and cold. He'd never leave...he'd never know the embrace of his mother, or the soothing, deep tones of his father. He'd never know Jane's annoying little voice pleading with him to play with her, or late nights sleeping on Benny's floor, staring at the old sneakers and books under his bed. He'd never see his star-themed comforter or wake up to the sound of his family bustling about, never sit under the old tree in his backyard...

Emotionally, he was crying for relief. Emotionally, he was caged in a dark room that promised light and warmth if he'd only accept the situation he found himself in. Physically, his body craved comfort, wanted someone to be close to, wanted to see someone smiling at him and hear sincere tones and laughter. Ethan had never been a social or dependent creature by nature, but it was human instinct.

And...the only one he possibly had to rely on was sitting behind him, massaging his shoulders like he mattered, but he knew he didn't. Jesse had told him time and time again, that he was a prize that the vampire had claimed, that he was important, that Jesse would never hurt him, because it would be like hurting himself. Ethan had never believed him, had been ashamed every time he gave in and drank Jesse's blood, because it was like being weak, being close to him but...wasn't that all just a part of the plan? Jesse's plan?

The last solace Jesse had left him was the fact that he hadn't drank from him. The memory of the last time those teeth sunk into him haunted him. The terror he'd felt, having his world turned upside down...he knew things now that he didn't know back then, but he still didn't think he'd be able to bear it if Jesse bit him.

His shoulders relaxed without his consent, as Jesse kneaded the tension right out of his muscles, deflating him. Through his inner turmoil, he was definitely getting sleepy again. The crawling feeling under his skin, however, persisted and Ethan gulped, feeling utterly defenseless.

"You said 'late night escapade'..." Ethan hoped his voice wasn't thick or anything like that. At the same time he felt weak, he couldn't show it, no matter what. Maybe if he made conversation with him, Jesse would be too distracted to bite him.

"You got out of bed last night and made your way to the library in the dark." Jesse informed him, rubbing into his muscles with just the right amount of strength and accuracy for Ethan's eyes to close without permission. "I didn't know what the hell you were thinking, but you fell down the steps and hurt your ankle. Maybe Aria did give you too much pain killers last night."

"Pain killers?" Ethan groaned. "What the hell happened to me? The last thing I remember is tripping and rolling down that damned hill by the town..."

"I told you not to embarrass me." Jesse sighed, and his hands moved lower over Ethan's skin to massage into his upper back. "I'll give you the full details later, if you still want them."

"So is the library where I got the book, then?"

"Well, actually, I tried to take you back to your room, but you insisted, and I was forced to hunt down that wretched book to keep you from waking our staff." Jesse chuckled, and Ethan's breath hitched. "I almost thought we didn't have it on hand, but I found it...and by the time we got back to your room, you were restless but in no state to hold a book."

Jesse's hands slowed their movements and Ethan opened his eyes- he didn't realize had closed them.

"' _This is the land of Narnia' said the faun,_ " Jessie recited, now simply resting his hands on the seers arms. "- _where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea. And you - you have come from the wild woods of the west?_ '" Jesse got up from the bed. "It wasn't such a bad read. I mean, it isn't something I'd ever read again, but it was nice. I hadn't read to anyone in...centuries."

Ethan ducked his head slightly as he felt a hot flush come up his neck and settle on his face.

"...You read to me?" The question was almost inaudible, but abruptly Jesse was right in front of his lowered face. Ethan blinked.

"You asked me to."

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.

Three or four hours later found Ethan sat at a wire dining table just outside the mansion, staring up at the fluffy clouds above the garden, and for once feeling rather lonely.

He had no right or reason to feel that way, after all it was his own fault, he'd always requested that he be able to eat his meals in peace. At first, Jesse had brought him a number of different places in order to get him to warm up to the place, the main dining hall, The several balconies, the poolside, the grand courtyard with all it's fountains and statues, and even the rooftop, where a small observatory encased in glass stood next to a relaxing area with a swinging bench. Eventually, as Ethan resisted the urge to run to all these wonders and explore, Jesse left him to his own devices, and not once did Ethan ever ask him why.

After deciding to take most of his meals by the garden he never found the curiosity to go exploring- and just as he was beginning to come to terms with things, he might have gone to see the courtyard or observatory again. Until yesterday. Now, a gloomy veil of grayness had settled over his mind and heart and all he could do was gaze at the sky and wonder.

It felt a betrayal to himself to be eating the delicious food brought to him by one of Jesse's employees, Aria. She was nice enough, and always asked him how he was settling in as she left to go about her business. She always had a smile for him, and he could find her in almost every place he frequented, going about her business.

The dish in front of him was simple but elegant- who knew macaroni and cheese could be so awesome? It was made up of a weirdly shaped, hallow flat noodles with pinstripes and covered in a creamy blend of cheese. On top of it lay breadcrumbs and a few tiny leaves of some kind of herb.

Awesome, to say the least, and Ethan wished he had the spirit to enjoy it. Nasty thoughts plagued his mind each and every time he ate- it always spoiled it for him, without fail.

Just a pet.

A well-polished tool.

Disgusting.

"Hey now, don't look so depressed." Said the groundskeeper as he came and invited himself to sit at Ethan's table. "I wish I had a hot maid cooking for me everyday."

"Only because I can't cook to save my life." Sighed Ethan, internally grumbling nonsensical insults at the completely leather and chain mail clad vampire. None of his past encounters with the man had ever been tense, nor particularly lengthy, but they always seemed to find some way to grind on each other's nerves. "I've only just turned fifteen, what's your excuse?"

"Feisty today, aren't we, monster-bait?" The man hissed from behind the mask he always donned, even during the rainiest of days. All Ethan could see was flashes of intense yellow through the hockey-like helmet with thick-set metal wiring over the eyes. "You're just lucky Jesse finds your attitude _adorable_ rather than infuriating."

He stood then, and reached out with one rubber-gloved hand to flick Ethan in the forehead, who yelped in surprise and then growled indignantly. Abruptly, Ethan stood, but almost immediately sat back down as he heard a thump and then the sound of water hitting the stone flooring. Not to mention his ankle giving a painful throb.

The groundskeeper only let out a deep, bellowing and obnoxious bark of a laugh while he set out to his main quarters, way on the other side of the manor, into the forest. There were two ways to reach it that he knew of- the path straight through the garden, and the underground path through the shed by the greenhouse at the adjacent corner of the manor. Ethan didn't know what was over there, but had a decent idea that maybe it was where they housed their experimentation materials or weapons. The very thought made him shudder.

"Damned vampires." Ethan grumbled and bent to grab the book that had fallen off of his lap. Sighing, he wiped the water that had fallen onto the book, and then did a double-take when he realized he hadn't brought the book on French poetry like he thought he had. Though similar-looking, it became apparent that it was very different. On the front was a picture of what looked like an eggplant.

"Typical, Ethan." The seer sighed, and then flipped randomly though the pages. What was he gonna read now? It had taken nearly fifteen minutes for him to reach the back porch unattended after his long nap, and he absolutely refused to be helped around like a damsel in distress, though Jesse and Aria both had offered.

Suddenly, a note flew out of the book. Old and faded, it looked as though written by ink and quill. It fell out of the page where one corner was marked visibly by what used to be a dog-ear fold, That page was about garlic.

At once, it raised warning bells in Ethan's mind. Garlic? What were the odds of coming across an article about the one weakness known to vampires? Or...

Ethan raised the note and read through it carefully. _Poireau_...or, maybe not the only weakness.

 ** _Je m'apelle Horace Noir_**.

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.

Or, perhaps maybe garlic was the only weakness. Ethan grimaced with a "Hmph" as he looked over the page of the book once more, and the note that came with it. The note stated that it was written by this guy Horace Black, and that he had vital information about the weaknesses of vampires. It talked, in short, about a plant, a vegetable related to garlic called the leek.

This leek plant could be found in a number of places, along with a plant called _Ail du soleil_ , garlic of the light (if his translation was correct), which both respectively had power over vampires. Leek, when consumed, can physically weaken a vampire to the point of helplessness and paralysis is ingested in large amounts. Light garlic, on the other hand, if grown under the right conditions and combined with other components could be used to...to...

Regrettably, the ink had smudged away too much for Ethan to be sure what the rest said. It didn't matter either way, because he wasn't going to try it. He wasn't going to try _anything_. It was just what the bastard vampire wanted.

It all started when it has begun to rain, just after his unlikely discovery of the note. Ethan had been studying the little note with mild interest, not exactly taking it seriously, and had felt a raindrop hit his head. He looked up, and scowled.

Goodness, he certainly was more irritable than he had been in a while. Make no mistake, he was still too disgusted with himself to do much of anything, even after the drugged water and his long nap. Now, the porch roof had decided to drip on him. Lovely.

 _Drip, drip, drip_.

He didn't believe the stupid note one bit. It looked like it had been written by a madman, about to fly off his rocker. Just by the shaky state of the writing and poor penmanship, the ink splotches. Besides, if such a thing existed as an alternative weapon

He leant back, and as usual when faced with products of nature, just sat and took it. Closing his eyes, he let the damned porch roof leak all over him. Maybe he'd have a bath later, if he felt miserable enough. Just maybe, he'd even slip and fall, or drown in the soapy water-

Then it hit him, and he shot up in his seat like a jack-in-the-box. Among the dreamy thoughts of offing himself came a sudden and mind-shaking realization like being struck with a sack of loose rocks. He'd heard the lady at the farmers market in town wrong. Natural leak...she hadn't been senile after all, she wasn't talking about forces of nature or leaky ceilings. His stupid, English-wired brain had messed up in his translation. Not _natural leak_.

 _Wild leek_.

When he'd first climbed his way to his room and slammed the door, Ethan had been filled with new purpose, clawing through the pack Jesse had salvaged for him from the night he'd saved Luc (which was actually two nights before, not yesterday night). But the excitement had died down when he realized how perfect the situation really was.

No one to stop him. In fact, if he'd had inhibitions the last time he'd been given a chance to run, they were gone now. Now, the vampires definitely owed _him_ , right? Ha...yeah right. Arrogant creatures, vampires were. They probably thought he had done it because of all that they'd done, allowing him to now make the best decision. Of course, they hadn't said this, but vampires were creatures lower than dirt, with a status at the very top of the food chain and that's what Ethan chose to believe they thought.

But...

Ethan held up the strange looking asparagus-slash-celery looking thing he'd bought at the market. Only one of them. _Wild leek_. And now, he found that it held some kind of power over vampires?

If he hadn't have brought the wrong book from his bedroom, if he hadn't gone to the market to buy it, if there _hadn't_ been a note stuck inside...where did the stupid note come from anyway? What were the odds? How many people in Canada actually knew of the existence of vampires? Ethan didn't know...

And now, he held one in his hands. He wouldn't have known what the thing was, if the old lady hadn't explained it to him. If the town hadn't been having their cultural festival, the book might not have fallen into his lap, as it did. His French lessons had prepared him to be able to speak the language, and Ethan had studied hard due to Jesse's cruel mocking of him. Ethan could do anything he set his mind to, dammit! Even learn a language in just a few months with no previous linguistic talent.

But back to the matter at hand...everything...had just _fallen into place_. It was too much of a coincidence. Almost as if it had been...set up that way.

An image of a smiling Jesse popped into his mind, and Ethan's eyes narrowed. That dirty bastard! Had he planned this?! All this information coming together, the circumstances in which Ethan had come to gather all of it, everything, set up so flawlessly. Now, as he knelt painfully on his window seat, sorting through the items he's bought at the market, he wondered. He'd been given the means and the chance to strategically make his escape- if the note was true, he could, perhaps, poison them all and run. Maybe burn the manor as he ran, wouldn't that be-

 _No_. Ethan grounded himself. _No half thought out plans anymore, not like last time. Just look at where it got me. I had the chance to escape and didn't take it- for the right reasons, but still. I'm hurt and disgusted and second-guessing myself and I'm still nowhere near a plausible solution. Impatience will get me nowhere. You're a creature with a brain, Ethan. Use it._

Yes, it was obvious now, in his mind. He'd been set up, no question. Perfect sequences of events like this didn't happen in real life, only fairy tales. He was- he was _sure_ Jesse and possibly Luc had both had something to do with it to make it all possible. To give him a chance...but for what reasons? To test his courage? To mock him? There had to be a motive to this, and something still wasn't sitting well with him. What was it?

The seer exhaled slowly and carefully replaced everything back in his pack, then stowed it on the coat hanger by the door. There, now the ingredient with the supposed potential to take out vampires was neither hidden nor in plain sight. If Jesse had something to do with this, then he knew he had it. It might not even have been true, the information about the leek plant. It could be harmless, and it wouldn't have taken much to make the note look aged and beaten up.

So, what to do now? If one thing was for certain, he _wasn't_ going to use the plant, _at all_. It would just be playing into Jesse's scheme. If he'd already resigned himself to the fact that he could never leave without Jesse's permission, then he had no use for it, after all.

What had he been thinking? If he couldn't even leave his idiot tutor Luc to save his own life, how could he expect himself to poison everyone and burn the place down? There were _human_ staff here too, which was mostly the reason he tried to behave himself most of the time. This place, the time he'd spent there, had obviously muddled his sense of reason, and unless he resolved his inner conflicts soon, it would tear him apart at the roots. Something had to be done before _he_ was done in.

Ethan stared at the ceiling and tried to come to grips with himself. What did he do now? He wouldn't give Jesse the satisfaction of seeing him make a fool of himself. Not with the plant, at the very least. Ethan was neither knowledgeable enough of the truth, nor agile enough to pull of a complex, one-man prison break. He knew that.

So...what would he do?

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"The seer has been taken out of Whitechapel, milady." The vampire kneeling at the feet of three roved vampires spoke with certainty. "It seems the day of his taking has already come to pass. He is gone."

"According to your report, he was taken months ago." A small, female vampire's fangs descended terrifyingly. "You've let him slip through our fingers, right out from under our noses! How could this have happened, he's _human_! It was your job to keep tabs on him!"

"I realize this." The kneeling vampire's head bowed low. "Apologies, Anastasia, I have no idea what happened, I-"

"Go easy on him, Anastasia, he's young." The elder council member to her left sighed as though bored with the whole topic. "Easily outmatched by someone who could swipe the seer child out of his home without anyone's knowledge. Not even the boy's family or the civilian police has a clue what happened. No signs of struggle, forced entry, nor any belongings taken or marks left behind."

"All of that is true." The little girl's eyes flashed dangerously. "But none of it does us any good now, does it? We are not the family of the brat, and we are not the civilian police, we are the elite Vampire Council of Whitechapel! Someone explain to me how a century and a half year old vampire could have his fifteen-year-old human charge taken from right underneath him!"

No one had a chance to answer as she was upon the poor kneeling vampire in an instant, tearing into him with steely claws and monstrous strength. The same council member who had spoken on his behalf closed his eyes to the sight. The member to the right had a grimace on his face.

"I agree with your sentiments, Lady Anastasia. The situation in our little town has become rather dire, hasn't it? But killing our less gifted members won't help the situation."

"It makes me feel better." Anastasia hissed at the body lying at her feet and then kicked it to the side. "Forget the underlings, let's send one of our own out to find Ethan Morgan. It's only been two months and a half and already I grow tired of waiting."

She walked over to the basin at the other end of the room and washed the blood off of her hands. After ridding herself of the filth and taking off her dirtied cloak, she put on a more modern styled trench coat and snatched an open file off of her desk.

"I'm going into town for a while. I'll take two guards and go to interrogate the first of kin myself- take the spellmaster and his troublesome grandmother into headquarters if I have to. Meanwhile." She turned towards the double-doors and flung her bloody cloak at the underling vampire's body.

"Have someone clean that up."

"Of course, madam."

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"Hm?" Ethan looked up from his readings as lightning struck outside. Though the windows were firmly closed, he felt chilled suddenly.

"What's that?" Jesse asked, from where he was tending to Ethan's ankle. On his way up from the porch, he'd twisted it just a little in all the excitement. Now, though, he tried to look at Jesse as little as possible, trying to say even less than that.

"Nothing. It's just..." Ethan shook his head. He hadn't wanted Jesse to wrap him up again. Why couldn't the vampire just be cruel to him? He tried to refuse, but Jesse had settled him in and ordered some medicated tea to be brought to him anyway. "Nothing. It's cold."

"Hm."

Something seemed to be eating at the dark vampire as well. He'd hardly spoken to him since coming in (without permission).

"Well, all done. Now try not to injure yourself further, okay dork?" Jesse stood up and headed for the door.

'That's it?' Ethan almost caught himself saying, but kept his trap firmly shut until Jesse was out the door. Then, he sighed and drank a bit of his tea, trying not to think of what Jesse might have put in it.

Dully, he looked at the wooden box Jesse had given to him earlier in the week.

Ethan had decided.

Tonight, he would do something terrifying, and it was all going to be...for nothing. There was no logical point to it, but even Ethan had to accept that he was way beyond logic now. He had to do something, and even if he wouldn't play into Jesse's hands and try the leek solution, he would still try, one last time to get out.

Well...he knew it was a lost cause. But as his inner struggles have probably suggested, he grew more and more lax in his rebellion with every day that passed. Each day, he doubted himself more and more. Doubted his strength and worth, and the more he tried, the more he _failed_. He almost couldn't imagine anything worse.

Was he giving up?

The seer flopped back on his bed and felt tears sting his eyes for the first time in a while. Usually, it took a significant event to push him over the edge of his emotional boundaries, but he found the more he just thought about it, the more he felt like he was teetering on the edge of what was right and what was wrong. The right side held nothing but pain and burned bridges and distance...and the wrong side was beginning to become familiar and comforting. Close, so close.

Would it be so bad for him to start to enjoy the food he ate? Ethan squeezed his eyes closed. _Yes_ , it would be, but the alternative was to tear himself apart. If he didn't stop with the masochism, what would he do? Starve? Go insane? He'd lost weight in just the last two months, surviving basically on a few bites of food each day that should have tasted great, but instead left his stomach feeling sick and heavy.

Would it be so bad to go up to observatory like he secretly wanted, and look at the stars from the country sky? Or to go and marvel at all the exotic fish and plants? To read or relax by the fountains and statues in the front courtyard? To swim in the pool?

The worst part was, yes. Yes, it would be horrible of him, because he knew that back home, his parents were crying for him, wondering what terrible things were happening to him. Jane was wondering why her big brother didn't come home to her, Benny was probably so lonely...to accept any of this and spit in the face of their suffering was...it was just evil. He hated it, he hated _himself_ for considering it.

To accept that Jesse...that he _owned_ him from here on out? Did Jesse own him? Did he?

Either way, Ethan had to push these thoughts away. His heart screamed at him all of these things, it was a physical ache in his chest, but his mind was angry. To live, and not go insane, he had to adapt and just live with it. He wouldn't accept it, but...he would resign himself to it. To accept that this terrible situation was not going anywhere and would not be made better by his petty efforts. It would only make it harder on him.

If he had one comfort left, it would be the hope that one day...whenever that day came, if it ever did...one day, his efforts _might_ pay off. Maybe, if he did everything he was supposed to, instead of what he wanted, Jesse would have no further use for him and let him return home. Maybe then, all the pain would go away and all the hope will not have been wasted. Was it really giving up, if he planned for it to turn out right in the end?

But this all came after tonight. Tonight, he would try to leave this premises of Jesse's, more out of his own pride than anything else. He would not play fool on Jesse's terms, but his own. Guilt still plagued him- he couldn't escape, he knew that, and even if he _could_ escape, he still couldn't, out of fear of what might happen to his loved ones. It was an impossible situation.

This was it, his one final act of rebellion- or so he planned, anyway, and it was all going to be utterly worthless in the end. Maybe he'd already gone crazy.

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 **AN** :So Ethan didn't abandon them after all! :D Had you fooled, didn't I? Well, maybe his actual escape attempt will catch you off guard a little.

Soo, this is turning into a far more complex story than I imagined D: In fact, it's now so complex and utterly unlike what I originally planned, I had to change the summary a bit.

But, hopefully, all of the turmoil shall have passed by the next chapter or so. I thought there was too much rambling in this chapter, and not enough interaction or dialogue. Silly me. Does anyone want to see anything in particular, next chapter? Any guesses as to who the groundskeeper is?

No one recognises Luc? ;D He made a very brief appearance in one of my other stories.

What's Jesse planning? What's _Ethan_ planning? What about the Council?! (Snap decision, BT Dubs.)

Thank you so much to all of those who still review, it makes me so happy :'D -cries- and makes me write faster! Some of you sure are quick on the uptake!

Until next time!

 _Updated Jan. 16th 2017 8:55am (PS, I haven't been to sleep!)_


	4. Chapter 4

**AN** : A little short, a little boring and a bit of a wait for it, but I'm pushing on with this story in hopes that it can still be salvaged lol. Let me tell you, sometimes what you have planned and what comes out during writing are two completely different things. Anyway, hope you find it at least a bit enjoyable! The next chapter may have a bit more Jese, but I'm sure at least one or two followers (if this story still has any) are glad to see what Benny's been up to. The next story I plan to update is my other MBAV story, Five Nights at Jesse's, because that one just has a few chapters left! Woo! If you haven't taken a look t it, and you like Rory and Jesse, give it a try! And please, if you wil, ignore the fact that it's a Halloween story and I'm updating it in June, and ignore the author behind the curtain of shame as wel!

Anyway, read on! Slight filler, but necessary!

:)

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Ethan grunted as he carefully eased himself out of his hiding space. Aria had just walked by- again, from one door to another on the bottom floor, where Ethan had finally made it after several painstaking minutes of easing through the third floor (where Jesse's study was) and the second floor (where Luc was recovering, and also where the squeakiest floorboards were. Aria, the maid, seemed to have no special talents (aka supernatural abilities) other than her keen instincts, and for this reason, Ethan thought she was probably human. She had just glanced back at the area beside a stray suit of armor in the halls just after Ethan had moved behind it. Then she continued on her way, and Ethan had done the same.

Four minutes later, he had just slipped out the small kitchen window he knew Aria usually left open. It had a crank and a screen as well- and he'd removed it very carefully in order to be quiet and slip out without leaving any visible evidence.

Walking through the gardens, a cool and gentle breeze blew through Ethan's tousled locks, but did little to calm his nerves. Even if everything was going as planned...even if he knew the ultimate outcome of this all, it was no less nerve-wracking than it would have been if he actually planned to make an escape. How long would it take Jesse to find him? To discover that he was missing?

An hour? A few? A day? Either way, he had to get out while he had will and opportunity. He'd left everything in his room just as it was earlier that day...neat and orderly, just how he liked to keep his belongings. Of course, nothing there actually belonged to him, but it was a nice thought that he had his own room.

Maybe it wouldn't be his room after that night, Ethan mused, wondering absently if Jesse would dare move him to the dungeon-like room he's been in when he'd first arrived. Blinded by hate and fear as Ethan was, even he could see that Jesse didn't like seeing him upset.

But that was irrelevant. Now, Ethan would make his trip to the tunnels he knew lied under the grounds outside. He'd seen the creepy groundskeeper go through a door not far from the back porch and disappear into the little shed next to the greenhouse for what seemed like forever. Now unless there was some kind of drug lab in there, or a kind of safe (doubtful), Ethan assumed an entrance into the tunnels must have been in there.

Which would lead him eventually, to the main quarters of the groundskeeper...Ethan just hoped he wasn't there, when he reached it.

Reaching inside his front jean pocket, Ethan pulled out a small rectangle of folded leather that he'd hidden on one of the wooden beams of the canopy above his bed. Smirking, he grabbed the leftover wires and tape from his pocket, as well as one of Jesse's many cellphones and dropped them on the ground at the edge of the circular driveway, right where it came up to the front doors of the mansion. Then, he took a leisurely job around the outside of the mansion, being careful to try and leave footprints in the soft ground.

A little ways into the trees surrounding the mansion, on a tree branch facing away from the house, Ethan tied a small but carefully cut piece of a scarf he'd gotten as a gift from Luc. After the small strip was secured, Ethan walked further into the woods and this time, was careful not to leave any visible tracks, stepping on rocks and fallen branches as much as he could instead of on the grass and soil.

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"Excuse me, sir. Can I just ask real quick, if you know this man?" A paper was thrust into the elderly lady's face and she reeled back with an appalled sound. "Have you seen him? Maybe a month ago? Or two? Ever?!"

"Slow down, kid! And get the damned thing out of my face!" The woman sighed and shoved the paper away before snatching it up and putting on her reading glasses. "And do I really look like a man to you? For shame, young man! Have some manners!"

"Sorry." The boy apologized and then accepted the heavy cup of brew handed to him by the pretty waitress behind the cafe's counter. "Really, it's just that my eyes are a little blurry, I didn't sleep much last night..." He rubbed his eyes and drooped as he realized that the woman held no look of recognition on her face whatsoever. "So, uh...you don't recognize him, then?"

"Looks more like a boy than a man, doesn't he? Can't say Iv've seen him lately...no, I don't believe I've ever seen him before...you, Dianne?"

She held the picture up for the teen girl to see, but all the waitress did was shake her head with a small frown. "Nope, sorry. actually think you came in before, about a month ago...his picture is up on the wall already."

Benny looked at the chipboard wall and scrunched his face up when he saw the face of his best friend already staring back at him.

"His name is Ethan." Benny stated, deflating, and then started to mumble more to calm his nerves than anything else. "He's my best friend, and he disappeared about two months ago...no one has seen him since..."

"I'll ask my other employees if anyone has seen him." The manager said sadly and then gave the teen a pat on the shoulder. "Just keep looking. Wherever he is, he's lucky to have a friend like you, sweetie."

"Sorry to bother you so early." Benny turned to leave the place. "Mind if I hang another poster up outside your front door?"

"Of course, just tape it up right in the front."

When Benny had left and trudged back to the park bench where he'd sat earlier, where he could see nearly every part of the town he and his grandma were staying in, he pulled out his phone. Checked in with the contacts he and Ethan had made over the last couple of years in the science and electronics clubs...in the last couple months, Benny had recruited them to help him begin a chain of surveillance that would alert them if any of their local and semi-local hacks had seen hide or hair of Ethan Morgan.

So far, no one had seen anything. The day Ethan had gone missing...was a day Benny would never forgive himself for. First, he'd slept in most of the day...then, he hadn't checked in on his best friend until late in the afternoon, and by then, his parents had thought that he and Ethan had just been out goofing off together. But when Ethan didn't show up for dinner, or for curfew...

Benny sting himself gulping down his coffee. The heat first burned his tongue painfully and then numbed it as it seared a path down his throat, tingling all the way past where his heart should have been...but Benny hadn't been the same since that night. He'd lost most of his enthusiasm for anything, save for hacking and law-breaking in an attempt to locate his missing best friend.

He'd started by hacking into the town's security footage, and then sneaking into Ethan's bedroom (which had been a total and heart-breaking taped-off crime scene) and logging into Ethan's computer to search through his history and check for potential bugs or- or _anything_ that gave indication that Ethan was being followed by someone.

Unfortunately, all of his efforts had been for nothing. All that he could find after hours of security footage was himself and Ethan (and sometimes Rory) an camera in the local arcade and in their high school hallways and parking lot. Nothing after the time that Ethan had gone home from Benny's own house at approximately nine o' clock the night before he went missing.

"Visions..." Benny sighed, and pulled out a notebook he'd been using specifically for notes on Ethan's disappearance. "Yellow eyes. Who has yellow eyes? That doesn't make sense...could it be someone with contacts? But that still wouldn't explain the glowing part..."

The teen flipped through his pages, to one where he'd taped pages from a notebook kept in Ethan's backpack. A notebook that held sketches and notes on different things... _crazy_ things, if Benny hadn't know Ethan better. Drawings of what looked like wet horns, and notes on an Ancient Greek myth, about something called the Oracle of Delphi. Notes scribbled and hard to decipher, but conveying a pain in Ethan's eyes and nightmares that Ethan had been having. Of course, Benny had thoroughly studied and thought through all these things in the times that he wasn't zooming into security cams, and had still come up empty.

Empty, just like the spot in his heart where his best friend should have been. But no, Ethan had just been...gone. No note, his bike was still in the garage, no signs of struggle anywhere...hell, even his phone, laptop and shoes had been left behind. It was like Ethan had just vanished from existence...

But Benny knew it was more than that.

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"You have to let me!" Benny pleaded with Ethan's parents. "Let me take the laptop, l-let me _look_ , please!"

"We've already called the police, Benny." Ethan's mom had a hand on his shoulder. "We can't let anyone tamper with possible evidence, sweetheart. We need to let professionals handle this."

"Look, they might- they might destroy clues Ethan might have left behind, you know that he and I were always together, no one knows him better than I do."

"Which is how I know that you must be in a lot of grief too, Benny." Sam Morgan placed her hands on his worried face. "I know you love Ethan too, and I'm sorry, Benny, that none of us can do more than this right now. I think you should return home for a while...let you're grandma know how the search is coming along. The police will be here shortly to take a look at Ethan's room, but after that, you're welcome to look for anything you like." The blonde lady sniffed, and was joined by her husband just as she gave Benny a final hug and gentle shooed him through her front door.

"We'll be in touch, Benny." Ethan's dad, Ross told the teen with a tight smile and slightly red eyes. "Just have hope, okay?"

Benny could hear Ethan's mom give a small and pitiful cry as the door closed, and his heart clenched painfully in his chest. He stood there for a moment, wondering what he should do, when he heard the sound of tires approaching from down the street, and in a moment of panic, rushed for the back door of the Morgan's home.

"I'm never gonna regret this!" Benny muttered as he slunk as quietly as possible through the back door, and paused as he listened to the Morgan's talk quietly by the front entrance. Then, he heard a tearful, "I'll be out in a moment" and the sound of a door closing, while footsteps made their way up the stairs.

Now!

Benny rushed to the hallway, fully prepared to sneak into Ethan's room and steal something important, like Ethan's laptop, or something else that could provide a possible trail for Ethan's whereabouts, when he caught sight of something black on the floor of the Morgan's bathroom.

The boy stopped in his hasty movements, and looked curiously at the linoleum floor of the Morgan's bathroom. Just as the front door was beginning to swing open, he dove and grabbed Ethan's phone off of the floor, where it was half-hidden under a bathroom-dresser thing that women kept their lady products in. And then, without thinking twice, Benny pocketed it and rushed out the back before he could be spotted.

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.

Unfortunately, Ethan's phone had been locked up, set with a new password, apparently. A new password that Benny had been unable to decode, nor had he been able to hack into it. However, one good thing about the phone was that Benny knew for a FACT, it didn't have the tracking device enabled, therefore, he could keep the phone for as long as he needed before possibly returning it to the Morgan's. The important thing was, the police wouldn't know he had it...and he had time to break Ethan's password.

The rest had been taken from Ethan's room, including his laptop, backpack, electronic tablet, school jump drives and a daily journal he'd been writing in while in their English class. Though Benny didn't expect to find anything ground-breaking in the daily journal (he and E had _never_ written in those) he did want to find someway to get the laptop. The tablet, Ethan only used for science research and gaming, but the laptop may have had something useful on it.

So would the backpack, maybe, if he could get that back. It was only pure luck that he'd found Ethan's notebook sitting on a shelf in Ethan's room, undisturbed. Benny just hoped that the cops couldn't tell that there was a tracking device sewn into the fabric of Ethan's backpack...similar to the one he had in his own, which could only be tracked by Ethan's phone. Which was locked up and no longer in E's possession

"Hello? Helllooo?"

Benny blinked and nearly spilled his coffee when he heard the sound of someone's voice coming from his lap. He was confused for a second and then put the phone to his ear.

"Rory?" Benny asked, and looked at the watch on his wrist- Ethan's watch. "What's up? And why are you up so early?"

"Me? You're the one who called me." The blonde sounded stuffed up and a little miffed. "So I should be asking you what's up."

"Really?" Benny looked around for a moment, realizing that he'd been doing things subconsciously again, lacking any presence of mind. He must have dazed off. "Oh, sorry."

"It's cool...so, any news on E?"

"Not on my end." Benny sighed. "Just been hanging up more fliers. Grandma's been asking around too...really, it's a good thing she has these weird meetings every month."

"Yeah, more opportunity to get the word out." Rory agreed readily. Then, "Hey B, you know those prints we took from E's phone after you stole it from the crime scene?"

"Sshh, Ror!" Benny hissed. "It's bad enough being the only two dudes E actually hung out with. We don't need more suspicion, and anyone could be listening!"

"Oh right! Should. Speak in code?" There came a garble of sounds that made Benny shudder as he recognized the language as Romulan.

"No! Never mind, whatever! Just talk in English! Screw the police! What about the prints, Rory?!"

"I think I have a match!" Rory exclaimed. "I just checked in...early this morning, my programs found a potential match to the prints found on Ethan's phone, but...it's weird, it says that the fingerprints on the phone belong to..."

"To who?" Benny got up, grabbing his bag with the posters in it and began rushing to his and his grandma's hotel. "Who is it?!"

"I don't know!" Rory sounded thoroughly confused. "It- it won't tell me...just says it found a match, but...this is so weird. It's outdated, and says that the print owner's files can only be found in the Whitechapel archives in the town library. The person these prints belong to is..."

"Outdated?" Benny asked incredulously and slowed in his run. "The archives?! It must be a mistake. You'd have to be dead, _long_ dead, for your prints to show up in the archives.

"Yeah, I know...I'll see what I can find out. Maybe it is just a mistake. Either way, I won't stop looking. I'll message you later."

"Keep me posted." Benny sighed and then slowed to a walk again as he made way instead for a local diner, deciding to pick up breakfast for Grandma.

"Wherever you are, E." Benny said suddenly, tears welling in his eyes with force enough to make his head, throat and heart hurt simultaneously, "Wherever you are, I will find you. That's a promise."

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Ethan pulled on the sturdy storage-shed door and hummed when it wouldn't budge whatsoever. Then, he pulled out his folded piece of leather and got to work on the padlocks.

First pulling out a home-made tension wrench he'd made from one of Aria's flat tweezers. He'd taken one half of it and bent the top half into a ninety degree angle, just enough to ease into the key slot. The two lock picks he had had been created from an old pumpkin-carving saw with a blade barely a centimeter thick, and two flattered and welded paper clips. The paper-clip pick had been especially hard to make, especially with having only a box of matches, a metal file, needle-nose pliers and the end of a small hatchet to work with. But, it had gotten the job done, somehow.

Finally getting the first lock open, Ethan sneezed suddenly and slapped a hand over his nose and mouth, looking around as if expecting to find Jessie standing right next to him. Jessie, however, was nowhere to be found, and Ethan continued working the next lock. As he worked, Ethan wondered how far he would actually get.

How long was the tunnel? And if the flashlights Ethan had glimpsed inside the door of the shed were no longer there, how would- oh, right. He didn't need a flashlight...but it would still be nice. Especially considering he hadn't drank Jessie's blood in some time in order to place as much distance (physical or otherwise) between himself and the vampire as possible. Without Jessie's blood in his veins, it would make their link weaker and harder to track through, in theory.

Although, he'd only been refraining from drinking for mere weeks. Hopefully, it was weak enough for Ethan to have some fun first. He wondered what was beyond the gardens and main groundskeepers quarters...was there another town? There had to be. That is to say, yes, there very well better be, otherwise Ethan really was screwed.

"Yes! Got it!" Ethan whispered to himself and tucked away his tools, as well as the cash he'd swiped from Jesse's safe a couple weeks ago. Amazing what you could do with vampire blood-amplified seer eyes...or, in any case, a shot glass. Not surprisingly, Jesse's favorite mix appeared to be Jack Daniels with a splash of H-Deficient, whatever that was.

Searching the inside of the shed, Ethan found the industrial-looking flashlight he'd seen before and also a door built into the stone floor with more padlocks on it. Suddenly, Ethan wondered if he really wanted to go through with this...after all, knowing what he did about vampires, anything at all could be hidden behind this door.

Ethan gasped and turned on the flashlight quickly, thanking God that it was now thundering and raining outside, and closed the shed door. Then he worked on unlocking the ground-door, pocketing two of the locks and leaving the rest on the table that rested near one wall. Feeling Jesse's confusion, now that he was looking for it through their link, gave him a feeling like giddiness and fear at the same time, and Ethan threw open the ground door before stepping in and closing it behind him.

All he could say in defense of the tunnels was that they really weren't that scary...and he was sure there wouldn't be anything horrific waiting for him at the end. He'd walked for around forty minutes at a brisk pace, sometimes jogging, and only passing two other doors, which was locked with something other than a key. He was out of breath and wondering if he should just turn back and face Jesse's wrath (or amusement) before finally reaching an incline, almost tripping many times as he ascended and eventually came out through another door jutting out of the ground.

The seer grunted in discomfort as he squeezed through the door, which had been caught on something before it opened all the way. When he was completely free, he realized two things...one, this definitely wasn't the groundskeepers special quarters or anything like that...in fact, he wasn't sure the golden-eyed vampire worked on the grounds at all, this didn't come up near anything resembling a greenhouse or workhouse.

And...

"Oh..." Ethan whispered, stumbling out from where the door had been hidden under mud, grass and other foliage. He shook the leaves off himself and the door slammed shut behind him, not even startling him as he crept forward, noting the little group of what appeared to be street lights in the distance, but also something else...

"Oh, what the hell?" Ethan muttered and sank to the ground at the edge of a cliff. The sun was coming up from behind him, and if he couldn't see the waves hundreds of feet below him, he could most certainly smell and hear them crashing against the cliff's wall.

Wherever he was...he want in Alberta anymore.

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"Clever boy." Jesse mused as untied what he recognized to be a piece of Ethan's scarf from around a tree near the mansion.

"Monsieur, I am confident to say that the boy is nowhere to be found in my kitchen, dining hall, or the maids-quarters." Aria spoke from a second-floor window above where Jesse was standing. Her thick French accent was especially prominent in her amusement as she wiped her hands off on a dish towel. "Shall I continue? I believe Luc is searching the halls and third floor as well."

"No, thank you Aria." Jesse smiled up at his maid as he pocketed Ethan's scrap of clothing and walked back into the yard. "You've done well. I'm going out for a bit, if you see Luc, tell him not to worry. Don't wait up for me at dinner either, my dear."

"Master Jesse will be gone that long?" Aria sounded surprised, and merely stepped back when Jesse flew up to climb in through the open window of the second floor. "Should I be worried?"

"No worries, dear." Jesse smiled and then went to check what other clues Ethan had left behind for him. "Take the day off. I just need to go and find my charge is all...the boy likes to give his caretaker a hard time is all."

Aria simply nodded and curtsied a bit before turning around to tend to breakfast anyway. After placing a simple cold breakfast under closed platters in the dining hall, she decided to go out into town for the morning. Lord knows she had a very quiet social life, apart from her own clients who visited very infrequently. Returning to her rooms, she noted confuse sly that one of her tweezers had gone missing from her vanity.

"Master had unique tastes." She dismissed and proceeded to get dressed for her day as Aria the History Major and Journalist, instead of Aria the Maid.

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 **AN** : Drop me a review! As always, please point out mistakes, grammatical or otherwise, and happy summer!

 _Uploaded: Monday, June 12th, 2017, 5:30AM D:_


	5. Chapter 5

VB c5

 **AN** : It's been a while friends! I'm having an odd summer so far, and again have developed a mild case of writers block, but hopefully I'll be able to push through it enough to squeeze out a few more chapters worth for quite a few of my stories before Summer's end. Happy reading, all!

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Ethan gasped for air as he finally reached the streetlights, just in time to see a small bus pull up to the little gathering of benches next to the road. He panted and got out his wallet, pulling out what he guessed to be the appropriate amount for bus fare and climbed in behind two others who had been waiting by the benches. He went a little over in his payment, but called it a generous tip (courtesy of one Jessie Black) and climbed into an isle seat.

No one of the handful of passengers tried to make conversation with him, and for that Ethan was grateful. In fact, no one seemed to be interested in conversation- the bus was almost completely silent, save for what seemed to be an oldies radio station playing gently through the speakers. Ethan tiredly guessed it was just a little too early for everyone to be at top speed.

God knew he could use a coffee, a baguette, and somewhere to sleep...dry socks and a comfortable pair of jeans would be nice too. Since coming to France, Ethan had to cloth himself with the fully stocked wardrobe and closer of clothes in his bedroom. It had been that way when he'd moved in.

Eventually, after a few minutes of watching out his window and half-expecting Jesse to come flying alongside the bus, Ethan sighed and relaxed back into his seat, his small backpack of necessities for a few days planted firmly against his spine. No one would be pick-pocketing his bag easily, and besides, the only thing truly valuable he had with him was deep within his jeans pocket. The wallet he carried had enough for a hotel room, something to eat, whatever he wanted, really.

LIf the safe he'd raided was any indication of how rich Jesse was, he wouldn't even notice. He didn't take even a sixteenth of that treasure, (not to mention the ACTUAL treasure the man had lying around his mansion). He was sure that even if he had taken triple the money he did, it wouldn't have put a dent in the vampires finance, point being...Ethan wasn't going to feel guilty.

Ethan knew little of the way vampire business worked...but whatever Jesse did, it brought in the cash. Seriously.

Maybe he just steals it, Ethan mused, and closed his bloodshot and lightly burning eyes, as he thought about his life and his home.

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It had only been five hours since Ethan had last talked to Benny, (they had stayed up _so_ late) but he found himself wanting to run up to his beanpole of a best friend and hug the life out of him, just from the sheer excitement of seeing him standing at the end of his driveway. In his usual trademark stripes and dark skinny jeans. Even back in kindergarten when the boys had first met, Benny had had unusual taste in clothes, food...but it had never bothered Ethan in the slightest.

In fact, you could say it just made Ethan like Benny more.

"Dude! Finally!" Benny jumped in excitement also at seeing his best friend coming down the steps of his front porch.

"This is happening!" Ethan greeted back as they both energetically took off towards their last day of middle school. "I hope you didn't forget your library books again, Benny."

"E! Stop killing the mood!" Benny turned around and walked backwards as he talked to Ethan. "This is officially the last day we'll spend in middle school, that's awesome!" Benny enthused as he used his hands in rapid gestures, flinging rainbow sprinkles from his chocolate donut onto the sidewalk.

"Yeah, next year we'll be in high school!" Ethan answered, sharing in his friend's infectious optimism for a few brief moments. "Though after what you did last week, with the banana foam in the science labs, I'll be surprised if they even let us into e front doors of Whitechapel High."

"Look, no one can prove that was me, or you." Benny slung an arm briefly around Ethan's shoulders, at a slightly shorter elevation than his own. "Besides, all you did was stand watch at the door."

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't do anything to get us in trouble today. I don't want detention on our last day of school." Ethan rolled his eyes but happily continues to reminisce and discuss their past mischievous (and sometimes unlawful) endeavors in Whitechapel's middle school.

"Look out world! Here comes Benny and Ethan!" Benny yelled with a joy in his voice that made Ethan smile even as he blushed when other students gawked in their direction. Pushing away any negative thoughts, Ethan put on a smile and ran after his best friend to the cafeteria where they were supposed to meet Rory.

It was going to be the best day of his life.

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Ethan blinked awake from his mini-dream, and looked around at the other passengers. No one had seemed to notice his head nodding forward as he dozed off, and he relaxed, his cheeks coloring themselves a light pink in embarrassment anyway. Readjusting himself, Ethan sat more comfortably back against the bus seat and wondered what exactly had caused him to recall such a memory. It was just under a year ago now...why would he be thinking bout something like that?

Ethan looked out the window of the bus and sighed, resting his head against the glass. It felt good on his temple, as a headache had started up behind his sinuses, probably from being awake for so long. Even so, as his head steadily ached, he found himself smiling and closing his eyes, wondering if he would dream of Benny again.

An hour and a half later, when the sun had fully risen, Ethan stepped off the little bus and into a city he didn't know the name of. Well...it was too big to be a town, anyway, but he had no way to judge the actual size of it. He just knew that he was hungry, and tired...and if he was lucky, it would still take Jesse some time to catch up to him.

He supposed he should so something worthwhile with the time he had away from his prison...but what?

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"The grounds are clear, sir." The groundskeeper reported as Jesse sat in his study, reading some files. When addressed, the vampire threw the files into his desk and stood up. "It doesn't appear that the boy has located neither the private greenhouse, nor the underground terminal."

"And the guests there?" Jesse asked as he lit a cigarette and took a long drag, moving to stand by the window.

The groundskeeper smirked and lifted the mask of his welder's mask so he could be better understood by his employer. "Undisturbed, thank god."

"Excellent." Jessie sighed, his smoke blowing out into the air, and clouding his view of the town not far from the estate. "I guess I should be off soon. Get a head-start on my own personal guest."

"He's a slippery one, when he wants to be." The groundskeeper agreed. "Even by vampire standards."

"He's just acting out, I'm sure." Jesse smiled. "He's too smart to be trying to run for real. However, he was also smart enough to make the chase a bit interesting for me...he told me he'd been drinking my blood as I told him to, but I can see now that's not the case. When I reached out for him, I had a hard time feeling him...well, harder than it would have been if he'd been drinking it every other day like I told him to."

"Didn't you put some of your blood in his drink yesterday?"

"No, just some special tonic. Come to think of it, it may have given him more energy than strictly necessary...I wonder how bad the crash will be?" Jesse smiled and stepped up into his window sill. "I best be off."

"So how bad do you think the effects will be, with him stopping the blood drinking and all?" The groundskeeper asked casually. "Or will there be any effects at all?"

"As far as I and the library know, nothing like this has ever been attempted before." Jesse murmured. "Which makes it all the more important that I don't let Ethan slip through my fingers...if word gets out about him, _anything_ about him, he could be in serious danger."

"You know, we could just-"

"We are _not_ just going to ring him dry, Gord." Jesse looked at his employee and friend sharply. "I believe I've said this before, but this boy is special to me. I won't treat him like the others, and you'll do well to remember this for next time."

"Understood." The burly groundskeeper sighed. "Sorry Jes."

"Don't be sorry." Jessie grimaced. "Just...work on weaning off the latest test subject, would you? It should take another month, give or take, but she should be ready for semi-release soon after she's been cleared."

"Whatever you say. I'll give the doc early notice as well." Gord nodded and turned to leave just as Jesse jumped from the third floor to the grass below.

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Ethan's fingers tittered on the mahogany table in front of him and he smiled politely at the waiter when he was brought a small plate with a dainty chocolate cake on it. He'd just enjoyed the house special at a neat little restaurant on a city corner, and had thoroughly satisfied his hunger for greasy, non-baked and non-boiled food, before ordering the sweetest dessert on the menu.

And for the last half hour, he'd been staring at a yellow notebook in front of him, wondering if he should do what he felt he needed to. He had a pile of notes beside him, with scribbles and mistakes written on each.

"Can I get you anything else, sir?" The same waiter that had given him the cake asked in French...the native language.

"No thank you." Ethan replied softly in the same language, knowing that his accent still wasn't the best. "Just the check, please."

"As you wish."

After the waiter had left and come back, Ethan left a wad of cash with him, as well as a generous tip, and headed out into the now slightly daylight.

The first thing Ethan had done after getting off the little bus, was find a cafe and order an extra-large chocolate donut with sprinkles. Unfortunately, the sprinkles had only come in pink and white, but it did the trick...well, half the trick, anyway. It sated his craving for sugar, but also reminded him a little too much of his best fiend, and suddenly every stripe-wearing person he passed got harder and harder to look at. Hence, the crumpled yellow notes torn out of the notebook.

He'd done idle wandering and taxi-flagging, spending Jesse's money just because he could. Absently, he wondered what Jesse would do to him once he caught up...and Ethan knew he would. Would he be angry? Livid?

Hungry?

Shivering for a quick moment, Ethan pulled his jacket tighter around him. For the past couple of weeks, he'd been trying to wean himself off of Jessie's blood. Not completely off, it was no use trying to do that. Ethan was half-sure Jesse found a way to make him consume or absorb it anyway without him drinking directly.

To make matters especially difficult, it HURT when Ethan stopped drinking the blood completely. Once, he had tried to stop drinking it, in hopes of breaking the link between him and Jesse...why? Because back then, he didn't want anything to do with the dark vampire (and _still_ didn't) but back then he hadn't been thoughtful enough to consider his family, or anything like that. All he'd known was that he hated the delicious red lifeblood, and it disgusted him that he was being forced to drink it..so he quit taking the daily dosage Jesse required him to consume.

It was horrible. His headaches came back, full force from the overexertion of his second sight, which had reached limits beyond what a boy his age should have been capable of, at the age of fifteen. His eyes had burned and throbbed with pain almost intense enough to make Ethan cry out. In the end, the whites of his eyes had turned entirely a deep bloodshot red, the skin around them bruising an alarming purple, and the veins there becoming suddenly swollen and glowing with bioluminescence, not unlike the way they did when he received a vision. A faint glowing pinkish-white hue was all Ethan had gotten to see of the veins branching out from his eyes, however, before his vision blurred so much that in a moment of panic and desperation, the seer had begged for Jesse to give him his blood before he went blind.

Needless to say, Ethan was given more than three times the normal dosage for the next week, even though it had only taken the blood a little under three hours to heal most of the damage. Jesse had explained it in great detail, how reckless and stupid Ethan had been for thinking he could pull off quitting the blood

The thought of writing a letter came and went throughout the day, and during one of the moments Ethan convinced himself to send it, he went into a post office, and asked the clerk if they had any out-of country postage stamps. The lady only chuckled and asked him what else he needed, while looking as though she was just barely restraining herself from pinching his cheeks. Tired of not being taken seriously, Ethan had turned around and left the establishment, promising himself that he'd find another post office later, before Jesse had caught up to him.

One thing he did do right after leaving the post office was go to a nice, quiet corner of a small but completely sweet cafe with computers and a relax area in the back. The most he'd done since he sat down was stare at the keys under his fingers for a good and tense ten minutes.

Almost frightened, Ethan wondered if he would regret logging into his one and only social-media account. He had sparingly few friends, save for Benny, Rory, a girl named Hannah and a boy named Calvin, both from Whitechapel. Other than that, he had most of his family, and one online-friend from America that he hadn't talked to in months and months, even before his sudden departure from home.

In truth...he wasn't sure that he could handle the posts his family would have about him on his wall. He was sure his family would be asking him to make contact with them if he could...and at this moment, he _could_. No one was stopping him, Jesse wasn't here yet.

He shouldn't. He couldn't. He knew he couldn't. But that didn't make it any less of a struggle to make the right choice.

"Thinking things over?" A small glass was suddenly pushed into his hand, and the sound of charmingly bubbly liquid being poured made Ethan close his eyes. He fingers wrapped around his own we're cool, and Ethan breathe in through his nose to calm the shivers suddenly overtaking him.

"Well...I was trying to." Ethan replied tightly, and slowly lowered his lightly trembling hand to the table, careful not to spill any of the champagne. "But..."

"You have too many things on your mind." Jesse smiled gently at him as he pulled up another computer chair to sit next to him.

"I was hoping I would have had more time to myself." Ethan sighed and gulped down his bubbly champagne rather ungracefully. A look at the corner of the computer screen told him it was only four-thirty in the afternoon.

"Is that what you wanted, dear?" The vampire asked, and reached over to where Ethan's mouse hovered over the "Login" button on the computer screen. He clicked it. "Time to yourself? Space? I was rather sure the mansion and grounds were big enough for anyone's liking...and I have made every attempt to give you time to yourself."

"It's not that." Ethan poured the rest of it down his throat, realizing that this was the first time he'd ever drank, but not really caring. His nerves were too shot as it was. "A bit early for alcohol, isn't it?"

"I figured you needed to loosen up. Besides, although too much of anything is bad, too much champagne is always just right." The dark vampire smiled charmingly at him and Ethan couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from pulling up at the Mark Twain quote. "Better slow down, though. Champagne can get you drunk rather quickly."

Ethan ignored the comment, and instead reached out for the bottle and poured himself a bit more of the foamy, yellow liquid, careful not to overflow onto the table or keyboard in front of him.

"Champagne." Ethan said softly as he watched the tiny bubbles dissipate and then replace themselves. "The bubbles allow the alcohol to get into your bloodstream quickly...not to mention, the high alcohol content as compared to other sparkling wines and such, which all makes it a very potent and fast-acting alcoholic inhibitor. You're supposed to drink slowly."

"Oh?" Jesse's dark eyebrows rose, and he pulled out a bottle of water as well. "Do tell more, mon cherie."

"It's a luxury beverage." Ethan went on as asked. "It must be made in a certain region of France to be considered true champagne...usually drank at celebrations of some sort, or...I guess, just to show that you're living extravagantly. To show that you're of high class, although that notion is kind of outdated these days."

"D'accord." Jesse replied, and this time water was poured into Ethan's glass. The vampire sighed. "Also, please don't tell me that this is your first time drinking. That is something I don't need to hear."

"Okay, I won't tell you." Ethan poured the water down his throat as well. Then, he touched the keys of the keyboard to his fingertips. Seeing his hesitation, Jesse placed a hand on Ethan's arm.

"Why don't we take this a little slower, then?" Jesse asked, surprisingly gentle. "I don't think looking into your old life is such a good idea."

"What would you know about it anyway, Jesse?" Ethan sat back in his chair and let his arms drop. "You didn't know me before...you still don't know me. It kills me to know that my family is sitting back home, worrying, probably crying for me."

"Crying for you?" Jesse asked with a chuckle. "Home? Ethan, I'm right here...and as for your family, could you possibly mean Luc? Because although he isn't quite blood, I suppose a young one like you could think of the flock as a family. The only thing he seemed to be pining for when I left was Aria, since she went out into town today."

"Don't act insane!" Ethan spat before he could stop himself. "My family is not the stupid flock you talk about. My family and home is in Whitechapel, in Canada. My parents are hurting because of what you did...my little sister must stay up at night and wonder if I'm ever gonna come back. They're pining for me...I know they have to be. We've always been close. They're probably still looking. My parents would never let me go without a fight, and neither would my best friend."

"Ah, the spellmaster." Jesse nodded, and Ethan turned to look at him like he was crazy. "Yes, I remember that brat. Attached to your hip like a sucker-fish, it was such a long wait for you to actually be alone and vulnerable. You seem to make a habit of making a big deal out of minor details, Ethan."

Jesse took Ethan's chin and forced him to look at him. "I am your family now. The manor is your home. The only thing you should be worried about is how your weekly lessons are going, and how your training is progressing."

"Maybe you really are insane." Ethan muttered numbly, jaw clenching.

"Or maybe you just can't see the forest for the trees." Jesse signed. "I thought we'd gotten past this, Ethan. It's clear to me now how little you trust me."

"In any case," Jessie dismissed as he stood up from his computer chair. "I'll leave a cellphone with you, and call you in a few hours with a plan."

"Plan?" Ethan asked, and took the phone he was handed. "Plan for what?"

"You'll see." Jesse replied. "I'm sure you still have most of the money you looted, impressively, I might add, from my private safe?"

"Yeah." Ethan replied uncomfortably.

"Well then I certainly have nothing to worry about. Just try not to get mugged."

In a dark blur, the vampire was gone, and Ethan was...alone. Just sitting in the little shop like he had been befkore the vampire appeared suddenly. It had only been twenty minutes, but the encounter left Ethan feeling shaken and angry. How dare Jesse just dismiss his fears and sadness as the misguided feeling of...of a _pet_?

Had it been a month or so earlier, he would have just chalked it up to another emotional jab by his vampire kidnapper, but now...the being holding him captive was more than just the vampire who had taken his life away from him, the bloodsucking, evil creature of the night, Jesse Black. Sure, he was held captive, but now, he felt more like...Jesse Black, vampire. As much as he hated to admit it, Ethan had been on a first-name basis with the vampire for the last few weeks.

Lin the beginning...he'd thought Jesse was evil, unfeeling and wanted nothing more than to hurt Ethan, and to slowly drain the life out of him. He still thought some of these things about the vampire, but...he'd come to find that maybe Jesse wasn't evil, per se... Science and heredity, Ethan understood. Cattle and rabbits ate vegetation. Humans ate beef and pork and deer, and whatever else. It was the natural order of things.

In the old days, and for sport, entertainment and recreation in modern times, big animals like horses were used as means of transportation. Horses were rode upon by humans because...well, because humans _could_. Sometimes, in fact it's a very normal occurrence and a fact that...humans keep animals as pets.

Now, Ethan was of sound mind and overly-sound body, and he knew how science and basic psychology worked. Stockholm syndrome existed, but...it wasn't like he was suddenly in love with Jesse or anything, it's just that he was beginning to comprehend things he couldn't before. His mind had long since stopped grasping at straws for means of escape, and it wasn't because of a sudden loyalty to the vampire, it would be because he'd rather suffer in almost-silence instead of being this madness back to his family. Could his sudden calmness and acceptance of his situation be simply a defense mechanism, brought on by his former (extreme) stress? Yes, it was possible.

There was a part of Ethan that hated himself for becoming so soft towards the vampire. Granted, Ethan wasn't all smiles and cheer, but he had long stopped his struggling when Jesse manhandled him or ordered him to do something. He'd lost his fire, and it sickened him. Any kind of compliment or acceptance Ethan could offer to Jesse, in his own mind or otherwise, was simply a betrayal to Ethan himself and his family. This creature had taken his life away from him.

But despite everything...Ethan had come to understand that it was also possible that Jesse wasn't inherently evil. Humans ate meat. Vampires drank human blood. Humans kept dogs and cats and such, anything small enough to control, as pets. Vampires...would have a very easy time making humans submit to them. Maybe Ethan was just a pet...maybe Jesse, and all vampires, we're just that...maybe they were all just being vampires.

He eyed the phone in his hand, and then the computer monitor, realizing with a start that he never did type in his email or password...but his account was open anyway.

A feeling like cold water running down his back gave Ethan shudders almost strong enough to be mistaken for a seizure. He put a hand over his mouth, the other across his stomach, and leant forwards in his seat, feeling the sunlight falling onto his skin from the cafe windows but not feeling it's warmth like he should have.

How long had Jesse watched him? How long...how could he have gotten Ethan's password? Short of mind-controlling it out of him, Ethan kept everything digital under lock-and-key. Was there anything Jesse didn't know about hi, that m? How had he even known that Ethan was a seer anyway?! His parents had never, ever shown any visible signs or otherwise that they possessed any of the powers Ethan did. If Ethan himself hadn't even known...

He looked up with a sick feeling as he seen a message pop up on his computer screen, and hurried to log the hell out before anyone else could see that he was logged in. So horrified was he that he hadn't even seen what was written to him...only that there were other, older messages from numerous people, probably his family, Benny...the new one that had popped up a moment ago was written by Rory. Ethan had had just enough of a glance to see that blonde hair and the slim black glasses on his face in the mini-profile icon to know it was him.

Ethan gulped and scooted away from the computer, as he held back an almost delirious giggle. Rory had sworn, back when Ethan was home, that he would be getting contacts any day. Seeing what he had now, he knew Rory hadn't gotten them yet, he was exactly the kind of dork to go nuts and take dozens of selfies of himself over something like that.

Slowly, Ethan pulled himself off of the comfy computer chair, and waited for the tears to fall, but...discovered alarmingly that his eyes were still though he could feel his tear ducts burning. Dismissing it, Ethan figured he was finally going numb to the emotional trauma he endured on a daily basis. Either that, or the effects of depriving himself of vampire blood were already getting to him.

With shaking hands, Ethan exited the store and walked briskly down the street to find a hotel as quick as he could. The first thing he was going to do in the morning was mail a letter, revealing stamps be damned. The guilt of keeping his family in the dark about his well-being was crushing his heart like a cinder block in his chest-pressing sharply and jaggedly in all the wrong places and suffocating him. With his mind made up, Ethan was only left to wonder what he should write. And who to address it to.

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 **AN** : So, almost 5,000 words, but feels a little short to me...eh, whatevs. Expect more updates, I'm really excited for the next chapter, as well as the next chappie of HITB! Shizz is gonna go down guys! Anyway, as always, feel free to point out any mistakes, and I think there are some because of this iPad's crappy autocorrect and weird word placement thing (text appears in the middle of a random paragraph sometimes and then I can't find it) but yeah, if you're kind you'll drop a review! Loves and hugs! Xxooxxo

Happy Summer! :)

Uploaded: June 15th 4:53 AM :D


	6. Chapter 6

**AN** : This has long been in the works, and I'm just now finishing it! :o The chapter, that is! It was getting kinda long without climax, so I ended it on a point I thought was acceptable. But I did manage...around 6,000 words with this one! Thank you to those who review my story! If you know me, you know it's like the only thing that keeps me going! ;)

Happy reading!

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"I wonder what he meant by a plan..." Ethan mumbled to himself, and stirred his coffee around in his cup by swirling it in a circle. His head spun a bit from the champagne he drank earlier, but other than that, he felt fine. Mostly, he was worried about the computer he'd abandoned not long after Jesse had logged him onto his social media account.

What was wrong with him? Was Jesse testing him? He didn't know about his parents, but...if he hadn't taken extra precautions in order for his activity to not be traced, then...then Benny, or even Rory could've easily hacked whatever person or server he needed to and followed it back to him. Thank god he didn't actually send anything.

"I hate vampires..." Ethan grumbled, and sat back in his seat on the uncomfortable bench he was sat at. Night had fallen about fifteen minutes ago, but Ethan wasn't afraid or anything...in a worse case scenario, Ethan was sure he could either outrun or pay off anyone who tried to attack him.

Easy? Only mildly frightening? Yes.

Manly? Heroic or admirable in any way? No.

Grimacing at the current direction his thoughts were heading in, Ethan cursed himself for being so helpless. He was well aware of exactly how un-masculine and geeky he was. He had no muscles to speak of, and could hardly lift a stack of hefty textbooks when he had to. Literally all he had was his brains, and although that alone could get him places...it felt so useless. It unsettled him. He'd never been at such a loss in his life than he had been the last few months.

Pathetic.

He stared down at the notepad he'd been fiddling with ever since that morning. He'd never once in his nearly sixteen years of life thought that he'd be writing a letter such as this one...and in reality, he'd never completed a complete thought during his previous attempts. It was like there was some kind of mind block in his brain, preventing him from truly saying goodbye to his old life. It made his chest hurt horribly, and turned his usually sharp brain to panicked mush.

 _'Mom and Dad...'_ He'd began writing, and hesitated. His hand tripped over the page and made little skid marks from the near violent trembling of his fingers. Shakily, his hand passed over the paper, sliding it away and beginning two other names on two separate pieces of yellow paper.

 _'Jane...little sister...'_

 _'Benny...'_

He felt as though he should be writing these letters in something like fancy parchment or at the very least, some kind of bordered, nicely designed paper. Or in Benny's case, maybe green-lantern green...Ethan smiled at that thought. But the fact of the matter was, you just didn't do it like that when you were kidnapped. Still...it felt awful to be writing these words on ugly, yellow notepad paper.

Placing a rough hand over his mouth, and squeezing his eyes shut tightly, he didn't know whether he wanted to sob or throw up. He'd promised himself he wouldn't cry anymore! No more crying. Crying wasn't going to get him out of this screwed up situation. Only doing something would...no more mourning without taking action. This would be the last time.

Staring at the pages in front of him, he crumpled them up and threw them in a nearby waste basket before setting off in some random direction. He'd already lost track of the little cafe Jesse had followed him into. Right then, he just wanted to get lost.

And, well, he succeeded pretty admirably for how little effort he put into it.

Ethan walked around the block again, looking for some kind of taxi or transit. He was sure he'd long stumbled upon a part of town where there were no hotels- only seedy pubs and convenience stores with dusty merchandise. Even those were few and far between...mostly, it seemed to be old apartment buildings and closed businesses.

Ethan's minimal French had gotten him by so far, but it had been hours since he'd last seen Jesse, and he was tired. Every time he went around a corner, it seemed that a taxi had just been there. Sighing, Ethan rounded another crumbling corner, and froze when he saw a group of people up ahead.

There were at least five of them, and as far as Ethan could tell, they were all male. As he watched, backing away slowly, one of them threw a glass bottle at a wall, which shattered to the sidewalk.

Yep.

 _Nope._

Hurrying the other way, Ethan decided to just pick a direction away from that group and speed walk that way ntil he either reached a hotel, or somewhere he could safely catch his breath. No, he would _not_ be a helpless victim tonight. Not to nameless street thugs, in any case. It was bad enough that he was already technically kidnapped, he didn't need to be getting into any more trouble.

Why had he ventured so far away from the nice part of town?

Oh yeah...to get away from his crazy vampire kidnapper, if only for a moment. He just wished he'd had gone in another direction- any other direction.

Stumbling slightly on a rough patch of concrete, Ethan decided to turn around and edge over to the corner he'd just rounded...surely, he must have put some distance between himself and the group of drunk men. Ethan carefully peeked around the brick wall, ready to run if need be...and to his relief, he found that the group of men were no where to be found.

Ethan let out a sigh and turned back to the route he was walking, seeing some light frantic in the distance. It was around ten thirty, and the seer hadn't the slightest clue why his idiot mind hadn't reminded him to take off earlier. At this point, he just wanted to head back to the cafe he'd hid out in all day. But that was blocks and blocks behind him now...or, in front of him? The town (which, really was more of a city) was actually quite large.

Deciding to rest at a corner, Ethan slumped against a wall and looked across the street to where he could see his reflection in a big glass window, showcasing bare mannequins. He grimaced. If that wasn't the creepiest thing in France, then he didn't know what was.

Looking either way down the well-trodden sidewalks, he debated whether to find some bench and wait it out until daylight (a matter of about five or six hours) or try and hike to a better lit part of town and find a hotel. His mind was telling him to choose the latter, or he'd be sorry but his legs had gotten tired of walking a long time ago. He was really out of shape.

"Ugh." Ethan groaned, and slumped into a more comfortable position, adjusting his backpack so that nothing painful dug into him from behind. Then, he gazed up at the stars and after some time...his eyes, the pride and power of his seer status, slowly drifted closed.

' _I remember stargazing with Benny not too long ago_ ,' the seer thought wistfully, and opened his eyes once more to gaze at the Cassiopeian constellation. 'I _wonder what time it is in Whitechapel...however much I love my parents and Jane, I find that most things, especially things I like, remind me more of Benny.._.'.

Longingly, Ethan raised a hand as though to stroke the stars with his fingertips. For a second, he was glad he was in a part of town where there were hardly any lights. He could see the stars so well.

"I promise."Ethan whispered, closing his fist gently, and then tightly as though to hold on to the promise for all he was worth. "I promise...one day I'll make it back to you guys. And whenever I get the chance to look up at the stars...I'll remind myself that one day, I'm coming home."

As though glistening with the tears of his family, and shining with the brightness of Benny's smile, the stars looked to be in absolute agreement. Then, Ethan let his eyes slipped closed, for once not caring what came next.

When he came to, with his chin against his chest...he was vaguely aware of a tingling in the back of his mind. It was something he hadn't felt in well over two weeks, since he'd last done his seer training with the rude groundskeeper and his mentor, Luc.

It felt like someone was staring at him.

Opening his eyes, ad glancing upward, he was relieved to not see anyone within his immediate line of sight. Sighing in relief, he rubbed his eyes and noted that it was even darker than before. How long had he been asleep?

He had been about to glance up and check the position of the constellations to guess at a time, when his eye caught something in the glass window across the street. The mannequins...were there more of them than before? Ever so slowly, his first sight adjusted to the darkness, and he could see himself sitting on the cold pavement. And on either side of him...

Those...weren't mannequins.

"Hah!" Ethan propelled himself forward and into the street, only slightly registering the sudden sting and warmth on his knee as he speed-crawled to the road and stood up. Spinning around and nearly giving himself vertigo, he was met with the sight of several dark, hooded figures.

Five men, varying from thin to stocky; creepy, to mildly attractive. Needless to say...these must have been the men Ethan had been eyeing wearily earlier.

"Oh...hey guys." Ethan chuckled awkwardly and more than a little freakin' scared. Then he realized he was speaking English, and quickly changed his dialect to his rough understanding of French. "Lovely n-night, isn't it?"

"I can understand you just fine, punk." One of the men chuckled, eyeing Ethan maliciously. "Just my luck to run into another foreigner. How's it going?"

"Uh...fine." Ethan laughed, trying not to sound nervous, switching from English to French with relative ease. "I was just..."

"Falling asleep in the streets." A deep voice droned out on French. "Especially at this hour, can be very dangerous. You're lucky we found you before someone else did."

"Jailbait." One of the other men muttered and then laughed. A couple others, including the British man, joined in. Ethan quickly deduced that only one of them must have been a foreigner, like himself. Or, if they weren't they hadn't spoken up yet, and they all seemed to understand him.

"Look, I was just...relaxing." Ethan winced at his own terrible lie. It sounded worse somehow, in another language. "On the way to my aunt's house. Thanks for waking me up, you're right...it is dangerous."

"So how about we walk you back?" One of the men offered, and then grinned as a couple of his friends chuckled lowly. He raised an arm in a direction down the street. "I'm sure it won't take long."

"Actually I was headed the other way." Ethan began to slide his foot backward and to the side, getting ready to make a run for it. He tried to make sure his feet, cloaked in heavy shadow, didn't make any noise on the pebble-covered street.

"Are you sure?" The British man said in English. "I think we could take you wherever we want, mate. Why don't you just come along?"

"Hey! There's my aunt now!" Ethan exclaimed excitedly, and waved as he seen something, probably headlights, flash around the corner, and all five men turned to look. At the same time, Ethan turned and booked it down the street, as quickly as his sneakers could carry him.

"Hey!"

"Get back here!"

"We're not done with you, fairy boy!"

Ethan balked internally at the name calling, and rushed onto the next street, not pausing for anything he might have seen, in terms of lights in apartments. Who knew what those people would be like? Or if they'd even open their doors if they heard him knock. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep on the cold sidewalk, but he was already sniffling like he had a cold, and that wasn't making it any easier to run.

He'd been on the track team about four years ago, for a semester, but nothing could've prepared him for the fear and adrenaline, which should have been pushing him forward more than it was. It felt like he was running in slow motion.

Turning a corner, he wanted to confuse the group of men, and ran all the way across the street, past parked cars, hoping that none of the men seen his detour. Rushing down an alley, Ethan just kept running...until at the end of one horribly narrow alley, he finally ran out of space to run.

"Why?!" Ethan slammed his hands against the brick wall, groaning and panting in frustration. "I thought dead ends were only in movies!"

He thought he could hear the distant sounds of low voices, and instinctively in the dark alley felt a familiar tingling rush up through his optical nerves. In moments, he could see that the men would split up...it was very likely that one would come looking this way.

He had only a moment to spring into action.

"Damn it...all!" Ethan grated as he placed a hand and foot respectively on either side of the alley, on the rough brick walls. Slowly, he propelled himself up, in between the two buildings. Legs holding strong for now, he went up and up until he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

Holding perfectly still, he waited until the searching man had gone all the way down the alley, cursing all the while. When the man finally retreated, Ethan's legs had begun to shake a bit. Cursing himself now, Ethan began to descend, until he slipped a little and had a close call- involving a rough hit to his head from a burned-out light on the side of one building.

"I'm too physically unfit for this." Ethan grunted, and, looking up, saw an old and rusted fire escape. He managed to cling to the creaky bars and hoist himself up, to collapse against the criss-crossed barring with a shaky breath. He could only pray that the escape could hold his weight for an extended period of time, because as it looked now, he wasn't going anywhere for a while.

Still gasping, Ethan lied down on the creaky bars and stared at the opposite wall, a mere five feet away. Relieved that he was out of trouble for now, and that he likely wouldn't be bothered by street thugs again, he allowed his eyes to close for a second time that night.

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There was some kind of soft noise coming from his far left, the seer noted sleepily. He snuggled further into the pillow beneath his head, letting out a relaxed breath. In the back of his mind, he could hear something being uttered lowly, but chose not to focus on it, instead listening with an open mind but sparsely little concentration.

". _..when I tell you, dearest dear, that your agony is over, and that I have come here to take you from it..._ "

"Hnn..." Ethan hummed, turning over a bit and letting his face rest against something warm. Not minding in the least, and internally pleased at the lightly droning voice, Ethan listened as there came a small pause- and then it continued softly.

 _"-and that we go to England to be at peace and at rest, I cause you to think of your useful life laid waste, and of our native France so wicked to you..."_

France. That's where he was, wasn't he? Somewhere, on some French countryside, with his supernatural captors. The thought should've brought dread and anger with it (and it did, to some extent) but with it came also a sense of familiarity. It wasn't as though the mansion was terrible. In all its glory, it probably held more knowledge and mystery than anything Ethan had been exposed to previously.

"- _weep for it, weep for it! And if, when I shall tell you of my name, and of my father who is living, and of my mother, who is dead_..."

Listening, now in a very conscious but dreamy state, Ethan felt a deep sadness well up inside him as his tired mind began _remembering_ just as he was coming to wakefulness. At the same time, that voice spoke to his soul, soothing his mind and lulling him into a strange sense of comfort. His mother wasn't dead...she was alive, halfway across the world. Ethan may never see her again.

 _"-you learn that I have to kneel to my honoured father, and implore his pardon for never having for his sake striven all day and lain awake and wept all night, because the love of my poor mother hid his torture from me, weep for it...weep for it!_ "

"I...can't." Ethan murmured, opening his eyes finally, slowly and being greeted with the sight of a fluffy white pillow. Mind clearing of the fog that came with sleep, he spotted as well a navy blue button-up, tucked under a simple silver belt buckle.

"...don't worry about it." A hand was on his head suddenly, and Ethan's face pinched in distaste. Not because of the unwanted contact, but because...it was slowly but surely becoming...not _entirely_ unwanted. "It's just a story."

Sitting up a little, Ethan found himself to be only half lying on a pillow. Actually, the crown of his head and cheek had been flush against Jesse's neck, warm despite its lack of natural body heat.

"You're awake." Jesse commented, and Ethan heard the sound of a page being turned, or perhaps marked, before he heard it being softly set down on a bedside table.

"...yeah..." What else was there to say?

Pulling up the comforter draped over his lower half, Ethan pulled his legs up lightly and stared at the swirling blue fabric, not over thinking, but instead...simply being. Strangely his mind was pretty blank. He didn't even know what was happening until the hand that had been stroking his hair and neck moved away, and he could feel Jesse sitting up.

"You slept all night and halfway through the afternoon." Jesse murmured, sounding amused. "A shame too, it's beautiful outside. We could've went for a walk."

"..." Ethan remained in his position on the bed, not saying anything and hardly processing any of Jesse's words either. Contrast to how intently he'd been listening to the soothing tones of the dark vampire's voice just moments earlier, he now found himself feeling a bit numb.

That, and he was desperately trying to push back...certain feelings. It wasn't as though he actually, logically wanted Jesse to remain on the bed with him, if only for a moment longer.

"Hungry?"

A trick question? Ethan couldn't help but give the tiniest huff of equal amusement and bitterness. Every morning he had been in Jesse's company, the vampire had asked him the same question, and each time Ethan had answered with a negative, never asking for anything. It had been as though, by asking for it, it would've meant that Ethan had accepted his situation, in some way. It wasn't like it had mattered- Jesse had always had food brought to him anyway.

From the beginning, hi mind and heart had always told him, ' _No_ ' and ' _Fight_ ' and ' _Reject him!_ '. Those same voices were now quiet, and Ethan thought numbly of what his intentions had been when he'd ran away from the castle- and thought of how splendidly that had turned out.

Bottom line...he'd promised himself that running away for a brief time would be his last act of rebellion. He'd do whatever it took after this, to complete whatever Jesse expected of him, so that one day, maybe he would be free again. So, with that in mind, did it really make any sense to lie anymore?

"Ethan?" Jesse asked suddenly, and before he could take any steps nearer to where he sat on the bed, Ethan uttered a single word softly, aware of any implications behind it.

"...Yeah..."

Jesse wasn't stupid in the least. Perhaps the vampire would recognize an olive branch when it was held out. Ethan jumped when a hand suddenly slid into his own, and he allowed himself to be tugged up and off the sizeable bed gently, onto slightly stiff legs.

Curious onyx eyes gazed at him curiously, and then the taller male gave him a smirk that had Ethan bristling like a worn paintbrush on reflex. The older (much older) male then flicked the seer's nose before giving him a light push in the direction of a grand door.

"Go stretch out and get washed up. We're making breakfast."

"Breakfast at...two in the afternoon?" Ethan scowled irritably, rubbing his nose and glancing at a big clock on a far wall. The hotel room they were in (assuming that's what it was) was huge, and posh with its fancy decor and excessive utilities. "Can't we just go out and hit up a Starbucks or something?"

"Geek, please." Jesse sighed, remaking the king-sized bed in a few quick movements, and Ethan marveled reluctantly at the grace in which the actions were performed. "You know what they say, ' _When in Rome_ ' though technically it's Caen." That must've been the city they were in. "Besides, learning to work well together is a necessary step in the progression of our professional relationship."

"Oh, save it." Ethan grumped, grabbing a fluffy towel off a rack just outside of the bathroom doors. He grabbed some shampoo as well, and a bar of soap. While he was in there, he may as well get thoroughly washed up. He felt like hell, and probably looked worse. "Professional relationship, my left foot. I don't feel like cooking.

"Actually, it's more personal, if I'm being honest. Selfish, in fact." Jesse spoke from across the room where he'd been fixing the bed, but his next words were breathe onto the side of Ethan's neck, making him go rigid.

"I plan on thoroughly culturing you, my little _prince_." Ethan flushed down to the roots of his hair at the whispered nickname, and despite his best efforts, shivered as the next words washed against his ears and tingled down to his fingertips.

"In all areas."

"Hhgh..." Ethan made a strangled noise deep in his throat and shot away from the vampire, opening and closing the bathroom doors with impressive quickness- and an unnecessary amount of force.

' _Screw him_!' Ethan raged, clenching his fist and throwing his toiletries onto the sink across the large bathroom, ignoring when his soaps fell and bounced across the shining tiles. He hurriedly locked the doors as an afterthought, and then unlocked them, because what would be the use? As much as he meant his thoughts, he just couldn't manage to make himself rage against Jesse like he used to.

He locked the doors again. Damn that manipulative vampire! Who did he think he was, messing with Ethan's feelings like that?!

In all actuality, all the vampire had done was pull Ethan to sleep against him, read to him, and whisper in his ear. But Ethan was going to ignore those little facts, and pin all his confusing feelings on the vampires outlandish behavior. It may not have been much (in fact, Jesse had done much more in the past) but it _felt_ like a lot. Ethan didn't know how much more he could take

Before what? Even he didn't know. Still angry, Ethan began tearing off his clothes, and realized sometime in between shedding his pants and pulling off his soft pajama shirt that these weren't the clothes that he'd fell asleep in. Also...his hands, previously dirty with street grime and scratched from literally climbing brick walls were cleaned and bandaged.

Growling but internally humiliated, Ethan stepped into the shower and fiddled with the knobs until he got a hot but not scalding spray of water. Ethan had gotten completely soaked before he realized he'd left his soap on the sink, halfway across the room. Grumbling, and still a little angry despite the relaxing hot water, Ethan slid the glass door of the shower aside and stepped out to grab his shampoo.

So many things happened at once, and none of them pleasant. As Ethan was making his way to the counter -carefully, he might add- his foot found a particularly polished section of the floor and he fell against one of the wire racks against the wall. There was a struggle for purchase as Ethan slipped and landed with the rack and all the towels on it landing on top of him. Momentarily, he saw stars when his temple collided with the sturdy tiled wall.

There was a deep sigh, and Ethan didn't know what was happening, only that it lurched him and caused a wave of nausea to come over him. He groaned in confusion, then yelped in surprise as his back was met with hot water.

"Oh my god..." Ethan groaned, and pulled his knees up when he was sat on the floor of the shower. "Don't look."

"Nothing I haven't seen a thousand times before." Jesse replied smoothly, and Ethan made a noise of deep discontent. "Hold still."

Ethan hissed as soap was washed over a new cut on his arm, where the metal appliance had scraped his skin, and opened his eyes slightly to see the blood washing away in soapy bubbles. Glancing up, he seen Jesse crouching just outside the shower, and breathe a tiny sigh of relief.

"You're a handful on your best days, aren't you?" Jesse's voice was serious but he also gave a small chuckle, raising a hand to bend Ethan's head to the side and coax water onto another cut on his temple.

Ethan didn't reply, but instead scooted further into the shower and closed the opaque glass door, obscuring both he and Jesse's view of each other. He heard the vampire sigh and sit down, remaining where he was. So did the human.

Damn it.

"I hate you." Ethan whispered after a time, and backed himself against the wall, cold now because the spray of the shower couldn't quite reach him.

"...I know, Morgan." Ethan tensed up when he heard that; it was the first time Jesse hadn't brushed off his words like they had no meaning to them. Despite his best efforts, Ethan felt a deep aching in his chest, and to make it worse, he didn't even know what caused it.

For a long few moments, there was silence, save for the water hitting the pristine, creme tile.

"I hate this life." Ethan whispered, half bitter, half broken. "I don't want to live like this."

"...I know."

Silence.

"If you want me to cooperate," Ethan spoke, not even caring how vulnerable he sounded anymore. "I need a few things." There was a long pause before Jesse slid open the shower just so and handed him the soaps he'd dropped outside.

"Name it and it's yours." Jesse then said, and Ethan couldn't tell if he was being truthful or not. Whatever the case, Jesse got up and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door with the now broken doorknob behind him.

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A soapy shower and a fresh set of clothes later, Ethan found himself chopping tomatoes at the small kitchen unit of the hotel room, taking his time as he'd been repeatedly told to do under Jesse'd careful supervision.

"Like this," Jesse had shown him after sharpening the knife to a deadly degree with an old sharpening bar. "Slower."

"I can cut a tomato." Ethan had snorted, still put out over all the drama of the morning. "Don't patronize me."

"You were cutting that fruit like a caveman with a stone axe. Everything we're doing requires great care."

"You'd know a lot about stone axes..." Ethan muttered, and could feel the look Jesse shot him as the other male moved around the island to tend to the chocolate _éclair_ he was making. A pot of gently boiling water and herbs sat on the stove, waiting for the tomatoes, peppers and duck meat to be placed inside. In another pot, duck bones boiled to create a broth, and the windows above the sink were open to allow the streak out and the cool air outside to blow in.

"I think...this would be a good time to discuss those conditions of yours." Jesse began, and by the tone of his voice, Ethan knew he was trying to be delicate. Attempting at least, and that made Ethan...not angry for once. "I have a few things to get off my perfectly chiseled chest as well."

Ethan closed his eyes in irritation and dark amusement, pausing in his chopping before signing and continuing. Would there be a time that Jesse ever stopped surprising him? But it was true- the vampires chest, much like everything else about him, seemed to be perfectly sculpted and attractive.

' _None of it is real_ ' he reminded himself and placed the chopped vegetable (fruit, whatever) in a nearby bowl and moved on to gutting the peppers he'd been given.

"Before we get into it...just to clarify..." Ethan felt sick, and Jesse looked up at him through dark eyelashes from across the island.

"Mhm?"

"I've decided to stop fighting you." The words were slow, disgusting and he almost choked on them. He put down his knife. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to reach the goal you want me to. Whatever I have to do...to be useful...I'll do it."

"You want to finish the job you think you have," Jesse nodded, cutting the bird meat slowly into thick chunks. "So you can return home to your parents and your old life in Whitechapel."

Ethan said nothing, and watched as Jesse took over- and with grace known only to the supernatural, cut all of the ingredients at a blurring speed, placing the meat into the simmering pot first and then coving it with a glass top.

"The thing is," Jesse sighed. "Even I'm not sure when that'll be. I know it's been four months already...and to you, that may be a considerable amount of time. But I'd be blatantly _lying_ if I said that our situation was going to last anything less than several years."

"Years..." Ethan nodded, trying not to freak out or anything, because he'd expected this. Of course it wasnt going to be over soon.

"I'm talking _several_ years." Jesse stressed, and Ethan felt something inside of him die. "I assume you already had an idea about that."

"Can you tell me what it is?" Ethan asked. "Whatever project it is you're working on?"

" _We're_." Jesse reminded him. "The project _we're_ working on. It involves you too. In fact, you could say..." The vampire trailed off and then gave the slightest, almost unnoticeable shake of his head.

"What?" The human asked curiously.

"Nothing." Jesse smirked, and then stabbed his knife into the wooden cutting board on the countertop so that it stood up. "It's just that...I feel like a parent telling their kid, ' _You'll understand_ _when you're older_ '."

He chuckled and Ethan's brows furrowed. "I need the truth, Black."

"You need to relax." Jesse walked around the island and placed his hands on Ethan's shoulders. The seer tensed on reflex, and Ethan looked away. "Whatever you're worried about, just know that...everything is fine. You're excelling in all your areas of study, and advancing greatly as a seer, just as I thought you would. You're doing everything right, Morgan."

Just as something had died earlier...maybe something else had just awoken. When had he come to _like_ Jesse's approval? In that moment, Ethan Morgan knew, was _positive_ that from those moments on, he'd come to hate the person he was going to turn into.

"Just keep it up and don't worry about anything else."

"You know how ridiculous that sounds?" Ethan spat, pulling away and leaning on the counter, arms crossed. "I feel like a wild animal being kept as a pet! Something to keep you entertained! Something interesting you try to be friendly with, try to domesticate, only to keep locked up and in the dark anyway!" Ethan stuttered and stumbled over his words, but they were honest and said angrily. "Do you know how that feels?"

A strong hand gripped his jaw, and turned him firmly to look straight into black, lovely eyes.

"You might be surprised to know." Jesse began quietly. "That you aren't the first animal to be kept in a cage, Ethan." The seer didn't look away- and didn't see any dishonesty in the vampires eyes either. "I know how you feel...and honesty, I don't know how to deal with people who don't automatically bend to my will. Well...I didn't until I met you, anyway. You present that challenge everyday without fail."

The raven-haired male gave a brief laugh and released Ethan's chin from his grasp. "I've had my patience tried more in the past four months than in the last four decades. Honestly, for a long time I didn't know how I would handle this either. When I first met you..." Jesse smiled crookedly, sardonically as though remembering something annoying. "I hated you too, Morgan."

"When we first met?" Ethan asked, expression twisted in thought. That first night... "You mean...the day you took me out of Whitechapel?"

"I'm sure you remember, I investigated you for months before that." Jesse's lips twitched again, and the vampire lifted a hand to run a finger lightly over Ethan's cheek. "That was hardly the first time we'd crossed paths. You just...don't remember the rest."

Oh.

Ethan didn't know how to feel about that. Unfortunately, or perhaps quite fortunately, Jesse walked away, to the other side of the counter and began scrubbing his hands in the sink.

"If I can accept taking responsibility for someone like you..." Pale hands began rolling out some thick, fluffy dough from a separate bowl previously covered in saran wrap. He rolled it smooth with a wine bottle. "Then maybe you can accept living with someone like me. I mean...it's not like either of us have a choice, is it?"

"I don't know. Is it?"

"That's enough of that conversation for now."

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 **AN** : LadyMaito (or fersure) is back! Back again. :D

Thoughts? Anyone recognize the book Jesse was reading?

So, concerning this story, there's a lot I have planned, and I hope it'll be interesting to follow. As always, feel free to point out mistakes, etc, and please review! Do point out grammatical mistakes and things I forgot to edit! I've missed this story, I finally have an idea of where it's going, and as I am officially done with my fourth semester at college tomorrow, I will have a fair amount of time to write during my vacay! Yay!

Ahh so many ideas, so many stories. I look forward to writing more. :) As I have nothing else to say, really, except _'I_ _wonder if this story still has followers_ ' that's pretty much all I have for now. No crazy anecdote for now. Wait! Except maybe that I f***in snapped one of my metatarsals in half this February and I can now feel the break through the flesh on the bottom of my foot. I literally hobbled around on a snapped bone because I didn't realize it was broke, and it healed wrong, and it'll never heal correctly, so I need to have half of it surgically taken out this summer so I can walk normally again. :| Life really knows how to treat a girl, right?

Ahem. On that lovely note...pray for me. :D

Have a great day! Mwah!

 _Updated_ _: Thursday, May 3rd 2018, 12:45 AM_


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